Identities
by CrisscrossAnime
Summary: Kakashi is declared MIA by the Hokage. But it turns out Kakashi was given a new chance at life by his saviour. Would he have a chance to undo his regrets? Does a change in age really mean a change in mindset?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! My first attempt at a Naruto fic! Please read and review…**

**Disclaimer: I do not owe Naruto although I really wish to owe Kakashi…**

**0o0**

_Chapter 1_

_(Takes place after the defeat of Akatsuki and the return of Sasuke)_

_Flashbacks_

_Kakashi's POV_

_Tsunade was sitting at her desk digging the pile of papers on her table. Most of them were debts, I've noticed, and with countless zeros behind every figure. Being the Hokage is a stressful job indeed. Sometimes it really made me wonder why Naruto wanted to become Hokage when Tsunade was already on the verge of becoming crazy. The room was dead silence only with the sound of paper being flipped, thrown aside and sometime, the grumblings of the woman. I mentally let out a sigh and looked over. My teammates were getting terribly bored. One was playing with the sebon in his mouth whereas the other… I don't know, maybe staring at her hand? I turned back._

"_Where is that goddamn piece of report…?" Tsunade mumbled under her breath before taking another piece of paper. Seeing that it was not what she want, she threw it inside the bin despite it was full to the brim. The area around it was also covered with thick layers of papers. _

_It wasn't long when she found the article that she wanted. She let out a satisfied grunt as she double-checked with the scroll that contained the mission which we were supposed to do that day. Unfortunately, her elbow knocked against another stack of papers, causing them to scatter over the floor. The atmosphere in the room immediately became ominous as her features darkened by ten folds. _

"_YOU THREE!!" She shouted out, loud enough to hear multiple echoes. Genma and Kurenai jumped in surprise at the sudden change in volume. Genma almost swallowed his sebon and Kurenai nearly fell down. I just sorta stood there and watch in amusement without feeling guilty at all. _

"_Y-yes, Hokage-sama!" Genma spluttered out, looking at Tsunade._

"_EVERYTHING'S INSIDE THIS SCROLL AND REPORT! TAKE THEM AND GET OUT!!" _

_The three of us were violently thrown outside as the door slammed heavily behind us. I still have no idea what did we do to have the honor of getting thrown outside personally by the Hokage herself. May wonders never ceased._

_Kurenai, being the leader of the group, read out the information aloud. It seemed that the Akatsuki members had been sighted again and we were to investigate into this matter. Yep. That's what the scroll and the report mentioned. Kurenai rolled up the scroll as the three of us got ready to set off._

_0o0_

_It was a piece of cake for us to reach our destination. No traps, no obstacles. I really doubted that the Akatsuki were still alive. They had been defeated from the last time I've remembered, none of them left alive. Maybe it was just a false alarm… but who cares? As long I don't die of boredom, I don't see a reason why we should reject this mission._

_We reached a cave which was supposed to be our place of investigation. Yes, a cave. Not the one that the Akatsuki used as their hideout but a normal and simple cave that is situated at the foot of some mountain. The report once again was found to be doubtful. Nevertheless, we still need to follow the Hokage's order. Without much choice, we went inside the cave._

_Just as I had predicted - It was hollow empty. The sighting of the Akatsuki was proved to be a phoney. Kurenai sighed in defeat upon finding nothing whereas Genma complained something about missing his date with a hot chick. We turned around and advanced towards the exit. That's when everything happened. Genma tripped over a string, thin enough to be only seen under the gleaming sunlight. The trap was being triggered, causing the place to start falling apart. _

_It started raining boulders and the rate which they were falling at was so fast that even I, an elite jounin __ ahem found it hard to dodge every single one of it. My sight was being blocked by the falling escarpments as I jumped aimlessly, not knowing my exact location. I came back to back with Genma soon, who by chance stumbled onto me._

"_We need to get out of here… fast." I said loud enough for him to hear. He shifted the position of the sebon in his mouth and gave a nod as a reply. Without warning, a boulder came crashing down from above. Luckily though, I managed to get away in time… but it was not the same for my partner._

"_Darn!" the boulder landed on Genma's right foot, crushing it underneath. He struggled to pull his limb free but to no avail._

_Time was running fast. If we don't get out of here quick, there is no guarantee that we will make it out alive. I went over to Genma and help him displace of the rock. By the chakra signals, I could sensed that Kurenai was already out of the place, nowhere to be seen and Genma was here, unable to walk at all. Great._

_I hauled him onto my back and ran for the opening. Kurenai was there, holding her hand out, at the same time shouting for us to hurry up. Just as we were about to reach the exit, more rocks came tumbling down as they started to cover the opening. It's impossible for us to get out in this situation now, but…_

"_Genma," I whispered just loud enough for him to hear, "be prepared to take cover."_

_Before he could mutter a word of protest, I flung him as hard as possible towards Kurenai who managed to catch him successfully. The exit was now completely sealed off. I can still hear Genma's and Kurenai's shoutings from outside. A sharp throbbing pain at the back of my head was last felt before everything turned black. At least I've managed to save my friend's life… just like how Obito saved mine._

_(Genma's POV)_

_I can't believe it! Kakashi sacrificed his own life just to save mine?! It just wasn't fair! I should be the one dying. Kakashi does not deserve to die in a B-ranked mission like this… _

_I ran desperately back but was held back by Kurenai. _

"_Don't stop me, Kurenai! He will die!" I cried out as I struggled against her._

"_No. If we go back, we will die too." _

"_I don't give a damn about my life! As long as Kakashi continues to live, it's worth exchanging my life for his!" I could feel my eyes start to get watery. A shinobi shouldn't cry or show any emotions, but for a friend, we should. That's human._

"_Genma, please." Kurenai's voice was starting to waver. I turned around and faced her. Her cheeks were already tear-stained. After all, losing Asuma was already a big blow to her, and losing Kakashi just make things seemed worse. My eyes finally let go of the strain that it had been holding. Bead of tears flowed down my eyes. _

_We waited for a few minutes before the whole thing ended. Both of us ran frantically over to the mountain which was now a pile of gigantic rocks. Bit by bit, piece by piece, we removed the boulders and looked for Kakashi. Maybe there is a slight chance of survival… maybe he's still alive. That's what we've thought._

_Our search ended out fruitless. There was absolutely no trace of Kakashi's body. I knelt down on the ground, my hands sore from all the digging. Kurenai's sobs got louder as she held on to Kakashi's hitai-e which we found it clamped in between two rocks. Silently, we headed back to Konoha with heavy feelings._

_0o0_

_Tsunade's face was in pure shock. Her eyes were widened so big that it looked as if her eyeballs are going to drop out of their socket anytime. I can't blame her though. After all, that was the same expression I had when the accident occurred. _

_Kurenai said nothing as she went up and placed the Hitai-e on Tsunade's desk. Tears were still visible at the edge of her eyes, threatening to fall any time soon. Tsunade took the hitai-e in her hands as she fingered the remaining of what was left of the copy-ninja. Her delicate fingers ran across the Konoha's symbol and to the sides, rubbing away the blood stains. _

"_I don't believe this… should I had known this would happen… I shouldn't have sent you three in the first place! It's my entire fault!" Tsunade blamed herself as she started crying too. _

"_H-Hokage-sama…" I stuttered out, "Please punish me! I am the one who cause all these. If not for me, Kakashi would not have died!" Kneeling down on the floor, I slammed my fist against the ground. It was pathetic of me. I deserved to be punished after all that I've done… _

"_Get up, Genma. There's no point in punishing you." Tsunade wiped her tears dry with the back of her hand, "After all, there's no sign of his body… he might still be alive… I shall put him under the MIA section for the time being until…" _

_Her voice was quavering as she talked. There was another emotional breakdown between the three of us. It wasn't long when the Hokage dismissed us home. Tsunade herself had taken quite a big blow too… her cryings weren't left unheard when Kurenai and me walked out of her office._

_0o0_

_(Normal POV)_

_The following day, Tsunade announced the sad news with a few occasions of snifflings in between her speech. The whole of Konoha went dead silent. The atmosphere was exactly as gloomy as the day when the Third died. With dark, grey clouds hanging over Konoha make the place looked darker than usual. People were seen wearing black, their face void of emotions._

_This continued on for a few days. It was really hard to forget him though, especially for some individuals. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura insisted on searching for him upon hearing the news but were stopped by the Hokage. There's no way she's going to sacrifice another precious member of Konoha. Furthermore, things need to move on. It's pointless brooding over the past. Life has to continue… forgetting the past and looking into the future._

_(End flashbacks)_

**0o0**

**Present**

(A few months after Kakashi's "death")

It was early spring at that time. The sun was hanging high up in the endless blue sky. It wasn't scorching hot neither was it freezing cold. It was the perfect temperature to signal the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Somewhere along the border of Konoha, a man was seen trudging through the forest. His white, long hair bounced up and down with the rhythm of his pace. His wooden sandals acting like a metronome, clacking upon each contact it made with the ground.

"Can't wait to go back to Konoha…" Jiraiya smiled, "I've got lots of research to do for the upcoming new edition of Icha Icha Paradise."

A perverted smile crept up his face as he came to a stop by a river. His keen sense of hearing captured the presence of a waterfall and you know what that means… girls splashing water at each other, indulging in their enjoyment - A perfect place to hold his research.

Trying his best to be as silent as possible, he hid behind a row of bushes and peeked through the openings between the leaves and branches. Unfortunately, to his great disappointment, there were no girls. Instead, a boy, around the age of eighteen was in the water, facing a burly man… a sound-nin to be exact.

"_A sound-nin? I thought they were eliminated together with the Akatsuki_?" Thoughts ran through the legendary Sanin as he continued to watch the kid. The boy was badly injured, his arms decorated with cuts and bruises, the corner of his lips were bleeding. His eyes were showing exhaustion and his breathings were shallow.

"_He must be a commoner… I've gotta do something before that guy kills him…" _Without any hesitation, he stood up from his hiding place and voluntary revealing himself.

"Hey you! Stop picking on a poor little kid!"

"This is none of your business, old man! This brat…" before he could say another word or move another inch, he was down on the floor, unconscious. The boy seemed to relax a bit knowing that the enemy was defeated.

"Are you alright?" Jiraiya approached the boy holding his hand out to him, "_He's going to catch a cold if he stays in the water for too long…" _There was no reply… the kid looked at his face, and then his outstretched hand followed by his face again. He finally let out a heart-warming smile and fell backwards into the water, totally knocked out.

It took quite a while for the Sanin to register what was happening and when he finally did, a shout could be heard followed by splashes. Grabbing hold of the boy and pulling him up was an easy feat considering how light he was. What that troubles Jiraiya the most was that he did not know where the boy was from even after digging into his pockets. There was no identity, no name, no item, no nothing. He was empty-handed.

Jiraiya pondered for a while and finally decided. Since there was no clue to his identity, might as well bring him back to Konoha… furthermore, he needed some medical attention with the amount of injuries he had. Without any delay, Jiraiya grabbed him, threw him over his shoulders and hurried back to Konoha.

0o0

(Tsunade's office)

"WHAT THE -" Tsunade widened her eyes and inspect the body that was laid in front of her. Nobody was in the office except for both the Sanin. Her fingers trembled with excitement as she stroked the boy's hair.

"I'm asking you to heal him, not to treat him as if he's some experimental animal or something." Obviously, the frog trainer was getting impatient. Fifteens minutes had passed and what Tsunade had done was to touch his cheeks, stroke his hair and sometimes trying to pull up his sleeves to get a better look at his arms. "And stop sexually harassing him."

"Jiraiya! After so many years and you still couldn't recognize him? I thought it was already written out clearly enough…" The Hokage whispered out, her voice filled with indescribable feelings of eagerness. She pried open both eyes of the boy and that when realization struck the man like a sledge hammer.

"He's… no… it can't be… I thought…" A string of denials came out from his mouth. The boy moved a finger as he mumbled something inaudible. He was regaining his consciousness…

**0o0**

**Cliffhanger! **

**Hope you all like it so far… I haven't really thought up of any pairings so feel free to vote. Hope to see reviews soon D**

**Currently having exams now so might take quite a while to update but please don't stop, I am planning to finish this story and I'll be needing all of your supports. Thanks a lot! .**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! You've guessed it! Another chapter is up… Exams are finally over and that means I will be having more time to think and type my story! My English is bad so don't be surprise if you actually find any typo errors, grammatical mistakes etc. You can point it out to me so that I will take note of it the next time I type my story… thanks a lot!**

**A/N: I do not owe Naruto **

**Nire Sanam- haha… I hate cliffies too… 0.o**

**Rodick- Sorry! I'll try to make the following chapters longer… **

0o0

(Chapter 2)

A pair of mismatched eyes, one black and one red, opened and looked into Jiraiya's own. Painfully, the latter struggled to sit up despite his wounds that were left unhealed thanks to Tsunade's fascination over him. There was a pregnant silence in the room before Jiraiya started stuttering out, his shaking hand pointing at the boy sitting on the table.

"K-Kakashi?! A-are you Kakashi?"

Upon reaction, the boy's eyes crinkled up and brought his hand to a saluting manner. That pose, no doubt belonged to the infamous copy-nin… the typical Hatake Kakashi greeting style.

"Yo."

There was another round of silence.

"You _really are Kakashi!!_ God, I couldn't recognize you without your mask…" The white-haired Sanin stopped abruptly to think what he had just said before his eyes widened to the maximum, "You are not wearing your mask?! Is the world coming to an end?! And why are you in a commoner's clothes?!"

"Yes, I lost my mask. No, the world is not coming to an end and my clothes were torn."

The copy-nin swung his legs to the side lazily and got down from the table as two pairs of surprised eyes followed his movements. Jolts of pain shot through his upper left arm as he silently muffled a groan. Finally, unable to bear the intense pain, he tore his sleeves, revealing a deep gash from his shoulder all the way down to his elbow. Tsunade gasped and Jiraya gaped at the sight in front of him. The cut was seen as an attempt to remove the ANBU tattoo since there was no trace of its existence on the arm where it used to be.

"So what happened exactly? Why are you in this horrible state?" Tsunade questioned him as she leaned against her table, waiting for him to tell his tale. Jiraiya too, nodded his head in agreement, his face displayed seriousness. Curiosity was burning like a wild fire inside them… waiting to devour any words that's going to come out.

Uncertainty flashed through the copy-nin's eye.

_Should I really tell everything to them? Or should I not?_

"I…" Kakashi paused in mid-air meanwhile making a decision, "I-I… don't really want to talk about it." For a minute, both Tsunade and Jiraiya swore they could see a flicker of darkness in his eyes. It was… scary.

In order not to aggravate this matter, Tsunade decided that it was best to not force things out. Still, those eyes indicated clearly that there was something going on and it's not going to be easy to make him spill it all out.

"Ahhh… Its okay then… I will be making an announcement on your return later on… imagine how happy –"

"NO! Don't ever speak of my return!" Kakashi's immediately bolted up and slammed his fist on the Hokage's table, his eyes were wide opened. Tsunade was surprised by his sudden outburst such that it caused a moment of mental freeze in her. She could not find anything to say in return.

"C'mon Kakashi, don't be such a sour plum. It's supposed to be a joyous occasion, the town will be glad to know that you're still alive…" Jiraiya patted him on the shoulder, unfortunately, earning a glare from the kid. There was a slight hint of panic in the glare… the type where it will cause the person to go insane any moment.

"Please…" His eyes softened, "At least not for now…"

"Can't you tell us anything on what've happened?" Tsunade asked worriedly. Her hopes immediately fell when Kakashi shook his head firmly.

"In that case, we'll need a new identity for you."

"Hai…"

Jiraiya sat down and looked at the once adult boy. The used-to-be lazy eyes were now replaced by sharp and bright ones. His hair is shorter although there was no change in the way he styled it. As for his mouth and nose, he couldn't really tell any difference since it was his first time seeing them…pretty much of a shock to him to see the copy-nin without his mask.

Overall, he must admit that Kakashi was quite good looking… except for the scars that marred his face due to the previous fight with the sound-nin. Jiraiya got this hunch that he might just be as popular as Uchiha Sasuke once those scars healed. But for now, he needed to come up with a name for him.

"How about calling him Arashi?" (A/N: The yondaime's real name is Minato not Arashi)

"Ara-"

"Shi…" Tsunade finished the last syllabus for Kakashi. With a sigh, the boy nodded his head. Trust Jiraiya to come up with such names…

"It's settled then, from now on, your new name will be Arashi. Status: an orphan found injured by Jiraiya on his way back. Age… errr…"

"16."

Jiraiya flinched.

"_He's younger than I thought… to think I've predicted his age to be 18 at that time…"_

"Age…16. As for where you will be staying, I'll inform you later." Tsunade finished the sentence off.

"Can't I go back to my apartment?"

There was an uncomfortable look on the blonde woman as she tried to avert her eyes from Kakashi's piercing ones.

"It's… beingsoldout." The Hokage said softly, part of her was feeling guilty from what she had done. But there was another piece of bad news, far worse than the first one, "andyourbelongingsarebeingburntincludingyourIchaIchaParadise."

Unfortunately, Kakashi caught every word she said. His face was now filled with horror especially from the last few words that permanently scarred his life.

"My Icha Icha books being what?!"

"It's not like you can read anyway… you are 16 years old, UNDERAGE."

Tsunade defended back. W_ho knows he would be coming back anyway…_

The two were now glaring at each other, Kakashi for his books and Tsunade for her own defense. Neither one was giving up as they both continued with the glaring contest.

"Now now… both of you are just being childish…" Jiraiya let out a laugh which caused both of them to glare at him instead.

"B-but my books…"

"Face it, you _are_ underage."

_Silence._

As if remembering something important, Tsunade quickly made her way back to her desk. Forehead furrowed in annoyance as she ransacked through one of the drawers.

The two males looked at each other in confusion, wondering what she was trying to pull, when Tsunade suddenly threw a black object at Kakashi. He caught it with ease and looked at the object. Jiraiya craned his neck to get a better view.

Holding the eye-patch, Kakashi wondered what he was supposed to do with it for a moment when Jiraiya's eyes widened by a fraction. _'Oh yea, the implanted Sharingan eye.'_

It's not to imply that Kakashi was dumb, it was because he had gotten used to the eye that it never occurred to him that his eye may lead to undue suspicions. But when he finally figured it out, he saw Tsunade motioning him to hurry up and quickly put on the eye-patch. He did as told when he felt a chakra signature along the corridor outside.

"TSUNADE BAA-SAN!!!" An unmistakably familiar sound rang from outside the room followed by poundings on the door. Several more footsteps approached and the door opened.

"TSUNADE BAA-SAN! WE"VE COME BACK FROM THE MISSION!" As expected, Konoha's number one prankster walked into the room waving a piece of paper in his hand. He's none other than… Uzumaki Naruto.

"Shut up, Naruto!" A fist came in contact with the blonde's head as a bump developed on the targeted spot. There was Haruno Sakura, standing right beside him cracking her knuckles, preparing for another hit.

The third one walked in, ignoring the previous two. You've guessed it… Uchiha Sasuke. He walked a few more steps before giving Naruto a smirk.

"You're too loud, dobe."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Tsunade cleared her throat. At once the three of them went quiet and divert their attention on the Hokage. Naruto went up and submitted the report.

"I see that the mission was a success." She glanced through the paper and gave a dry smile, "good job."

Of course, Kakashi didn't escape his _former_ students' view.

"Nene, Tsunade-baasan, who is he?" Naruto asked, pointing at the miniature version of Kakashi.

"I was just about to introduce him… He's an orphan found by Jiraiya on his way here. It seems like he was being attacked by some ninjas and suffered quite an amount of damage…"

"So he's staying in Konoha? Yes? No?"

"YES, Naruto, and please wait for me to finish my speech before you ask anything. So…Sakura, I'll need you to tend his injuries and as for Sasuke, I'll need you to stay back. There's something to be discussed."

"Can I stay here and listen to the discussion?" Naruto chirped.

"NO."

Hence, the three of them went to their respective jobs… Sasuke remained in the Hokage's office as Sakura helped Kakashi outside, with Naruto tagging behind them.

0o0

(Outside the Hokage's tower)

Kakashi bit his lips and winced slightly. He already knew that the treatment was going to be painful and this was one of the reasons why he did not like the hospital. He let out a soft groan when Sakura exerted more chakra into his wounds. It wasn't really a pleasant feeling especially with a foreign chakra invading into your own.

After what seems like hours, Sakura finally stopped and heaved out a sigh. Kakashi too, finally loosened his breath and slumped down, leaning against the tree behind them. _At least _most of his cuts and bruises were healed…or to put it in another way, there were too many injuries to be healed.

"So… what's your name?" Sakura turned and faced him, her emerald eyes filled with untold excitement. Of course, Kakashi knew that look too well… it has definitely something to do with his face.

To make things worse, Naruto was looking at him with the same intensity, adding on to the pressure that Sakura was already giving him.

"Ka- ARASHI, I mean…" he immediately changed upon realizing his mistake.

"Karashi? Why would your parents name you after a sauce?" (A/N: Karashi is the Japanese term for mustard)

"As if fish cakes are any better…" Sakura mocked with a glint of mischief in her eyes, "Seriously, Karashi sounds much better than Naruto…"

"Erm… it's ARASHI, not Karashi."

There was a moment of silence with the two stopping in mid-air before realization finally kicked in.

"Arashi… That sound so… COOL!" Naruto shouted out earning weird glances from nearby passer-bys. Without warning, a stone flew past and landed on the enthusiastic boy's head.

"Do I have to repeat that you are too loud, dobe?" Sasuke walked over to them and looked at the new kid. Actually, 'glaring' was much more of an appropriate usage of word.

"Sasuke-teme!"

"Damare, Naruto. The Hokage requires of you of your presence, _ARASHI._"

_Ouch. That hurts…_

"Sure." _Tsunade-sama's better explain everything…_

_­_0o0

(In Tsunade's office)

Kakashi blinked once, then twice. Did he hear it correctly or was he hallucinating?

"Kakashi, or rather Arashi, did you hear what I've just said?"

"…"

"Let me repeat myself, you will be staying with Uchiha Sasuke from now onwards, is that clear?"

_That explained why Sasuke was so angry just now… looks like I need to find some way to reject it…_

"But Tsunade-sama…" His mind was coming up with all sorts of excuses, but before he had a chance to use either one, Jiraiya interrupted in.

"Arashi, he had already accepted and furthermore, this is the Hokage's command. Cut the complaints and just follow the orders given out."

_As if as you did ever follow the Hokage's command without any complaints…_

After the dismissal, all that's in Kakashi's mind was the trouble he would be getting into with the Uchiha…

0o0

**A/N: I would like to thanks the following authors for their reviews…**

**ElektricStorm**

**Cheysuli-Night**

**kidkakashi**

**Sandy McDonald**

**Nire Sanam**

**Rodick **

**Please review for my stories… they are what that inspires me to continue writing… Thanks!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hihi! Thanks for reading my story and I hope that you all will continue to review my story! Reviews are my only inspirations. Sorry that this chapter took quite a while to finish… Busy at school… need to go back for extra lessons etcetc. .**

**Anyway! Chapter 3 is finally up! D**

**Disclaimer:I don't owe Naruto**

**0o0**

(Chapter 3)

Birds were chirping outside the window as beams of sunlight penetrated through the translucent curtains and reached a sleeping figure. The brightness made him stir slightly from his peaceful slumber. He tossed and turned in his bed, trying his best to shut himself out from the light. Finally, a pair of mismatched eyes opened and a lethargic yawn was heard. His eye patch was lying neatly on the desk next to his bed which he grabbed and wore immediately.

"_Where am I?" _

The question popped in his mind instantly when he found his surroundings unfamiliar. It was not his room. There's no way that his room would be this _clean _and _empty _with only a desk, a wardrobe and a bed present Usually, he would wake up to find clothes strewn all over the floor with occasions of dangerous objects such as kunai and shurikens protruding out of the mess. Blotches of dried blood stained his floor and let's not forget his icha icha books too.

Even during missions, however impossible it might seem he would definitely find some ways to make his hotel room resemble a pigsty. Waking up to a clean and sparkling room was indeed something his mind couldn't take.

Back to the main question, where the hell is he? Kakashi tried to recall what happened the day before and realization hit him like a tons of bricks.

0o0

_Flashback_

"_You will be staying in this room." Sasuke grunted as he kicked open the door._

"_Erm… thanks." Kakashi went into the room. He was found empty-handed by Jiraiya so naturally he didn't have any belongings to put in his new room._

"_Whatever." The door slammed heavily behind him. _

_Kakashi sat down on the bed and let out a sigh. The Uchiha was obviously angry at him. A stranger invading into one's personal life's space isn't really such a pleasant thing. Kakashi lifted his legs onto the mattress, his spine slowly descending and coming in contact with the soft material. _

"_I shouldn't have let down my guards back then… That sound-nin would have been defeated easily and I wouldn't have been found by Jiraiya." He put his hand on his forehead. His whole body, including his head had been aching since he woke up. At least it was better now after Sakura healed him compared to before… _

_It's not that he didn't want to return to Konoha or something. Rather, he really wanted to come back and lead his life just like nothing had ever happened to him. It's just some things that were holding him back that was still left untouched, some things that couldn't be revealed… not even to one living soul._

_Kakashi stared at the ceiling for quite some time. His vision became blurry and his head felt heavy. Was it drugs? Somebody drugged him? The answer was 'no'. He came to a conclusion that his body had overworked that day. That was when his eyes gave way and soon, he fell into a deep sleep. _

_End flashback_

0o0

The copy-nin got down from his bed. He turned around and gazed at the mess on the bed he made last night: The blanket was crumpled way beyond words and the covers had come off the mattress from the continuous tossing and turnings. Plus blood stains imprinted all over the white covers… a horrific sight to behold. The pillow was amazingly still intact after the unfortunate outcomes of the bed though. Maybe due to the fact that it was being thrown onto the floor early that night therefore was left alone. Without feeling guilty, he walked right out of the door, not even giving it one last look.

He stepped into the kitchen to be greeted by Sasuke's grumpy face… just great. Kakashi forced a smile but was ignored easily by him. The copy-nin cringed. If it wasn't the fact that he was letting him stay in his apartment, he wouldn't have cared about being nice and all.

_Switch of plans…_

"Good morning, Sasuke."

"Hn."

_Good try. At least he said something._

"Errrr… what's for breakfast?" His stomach was rumbling now upon the mention of food. He didn't get to consume anything yesterday and maybe, a few days before that too. A slam caught his attention.

"If you are thinking that I would cook for you, then you are seriously wrong. I only let you stay in here because the Hokage wanted me to." Sasuke growled, "I would have rejected if I was given a choice." With that he walked out of the house, not even bothering to close the main door.

_And to think I thought they used to be so innocent…_

Kakashi staggered his way to the living room and slumped down onto the couch. He was hungry. And the problem was that he didn't know how to cook. Of course there's the ramen shop and dango shop and he'd love to go there if he can ever afford to, considering the situation he is in now.

"ARASHI-KUN!!"

_More trouble…_

Naruto took off his shoes and invited himself into the room, following behind him was Sakura. Kakashi remained fixed at his position and smiled at them.

"Nice to see you two here, Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan." Tsunade must have told them of his whereabouts, he figured out.

"Nene… Arashi-kun! Look what I've got here for you!" The blonde flipped a piece of paper in front of him enthusiastically, "I've got a hard time pleading Tsunade baa-san just to get this for you…"

"Naruto! I thought we've agreed to do that later?" Sakura pulled the paper away before Kakashi could even take a peek at the headings. Naruto pouted and sat on the floor. Meanwhile, Sakura took the seat next to the copy-nin and passed him a bento box.

"Huh?" Kakashi's face held a surprised look.

"It's for you. I figured that you'd be hungry since guys hardly have any talents in cooking." There was a hint of sarcasm but he couldn't care less, after all his stomach comes first.

He opened the bento and in it lies four onigiri neatly packed next to each other.

"Thanks, Sakura! You're really considerate!" Without further much ado, Kakashi wolfed down the food offered to him, totally oblivious to Sakura's slightly blushing face.

"Sakura-chan, can we say it now? Pretty please?" Naruto whined, "It's supposed to be great news!"

"Hai, hai… Stop whining before I change my mind." The pink-haired medic sighed and passed the paper to Kakashi.

Maybe he should poof away or something… After reading the headings, he almost spit out the rice that was in his mouth. And to think Tsunade agreed to this! He calmed himself down and continued reading, but not for long.

_Join the Ninja Academy now!_

_Want your child to be a ninja? Then join the academy now! Regardless of age and talents, we'll still train you and make sure your child graduate under our care and guidance! With high quality teachers, you can be at ease with your child under us! If you are interested, please fill in your particulars below:  
_

_Name:_

_Age:_

_The Genin exams will take place soon, so hurry!_

When did they even start to advertise like this?! It sounded as if the academy is on a shortage of students or something. After some deducing, Kakashi reckoned it must be Iruka's doing since he is the one mainly in charge of enrolment of students. At the same time, two pairs of eyes stared intensely at him, waiting eagerly for a reply.

"I'm not going."

"NANI?!" Naruto was the first one to shout out, "why not?!"

"Naruto-kun, I understand your good intentions but… don't you think I'm a bit too old for this?" Kakashi said. He let out a shudder upon the thought of him sitting in the class with small kids all around him. That would be awkward…

"B-but Tsunade-baasan agreed to this! She said it was necessary for you to join the academy!"

"Yes! It's never too late to start anything!"

Great, now Sakura is siding Naruto. Kakashi made up his mind to get his revenge back on Tsunade the next time he sees her. Naruto snatched the paper back before he could react and the next thing he saw was Naruto scribbling his name on the form.

"Name, Arashi… Age… What's your age?"

"16… I thought I mentioned it before…"

"Done! I'm going to submit it now! See'ya guys!" He ignored Kakashi's pleading look and ran out of the house. There's no turning back now. That's when Sakura brought up another question for him.

"Arashi-kun, your clothes are badly torn, shouldn't you change into something else?"

_Good point._

"I don't have any extra clothes…" That was a valid point that he should take note of. One of his sleeves was torn off the last time by himself and there were tears at a number of places. Tsunade had said that all his belongings were being burnt… and he had no money at the current situation… Where is he going to get new ones?

"How about borrowing some from Naruto?" The medic suggested.

"I'm not going to wear that orange suit…"

"Lee?"

"Nooo…" he groaned. The mental image of him wearing green spandex was taking a toll on his head.

"I'll try to get some funds from Tsunade then… That's how Naruto bought his things from what I've heard." Sakura stood up and walked towards the entrance, "Guess I'll be seeing you later… Jya!"

Among the three, only Sakura closed the door behind her, Kakashi noticed. She's a girl after all and naturally they are more polite, more courteous, more considerate, and more…dominant. He scratched his nape and went back to his room.

The door knob turned and the door opened. He took a few steps in and froze on the sight of his table. No, the table wasn't messy. What had caused the shock was a letter, lying alone on the table. He rushed over and took it in his hands. Somehow he got a rough idea who was it that sent him that letter. Slowly and carefully, he opened with caution and it was just as he guessed: He knew that person.

_Kakashi,_

_I see that you've went back to Konoha. __Please__ meet me tonight 11pm at the bridge._

_Friend_

Kakashi read, crushed the piece of paper and tossed it under the bed. He had already expected _him _to come but he didn't expect it to be this fast, furthermore, sneaking into the apartment and putting a letter in broad daylight. Doesn't anyone see him? There's a lot to tell _him_ and for _him_ to tell. Kakashi can't wait till eleven…

0o0

(10:00 pm)

"What… oh…" Kakashi's eye flew opened. He realized he had fallen asleep again despite different measures taken to stay awake. He took a glance at the clock. _Another one more hour to go…_ _Gotta stay awake._ He made a mental note to himself.

Standing up, Kakashi walked towards the door and opened it. Lying in front of it was a set of clean clothes and a note that goes with it:

_Arashi-kun, _

_I managed to get a set of clothes for you with the money that Tsunade-sensei gave me. It seems that you were sleeping when I came by so I'll just put it here for you. Be sure to change into it, okay? As for the ones you are currently wearing, you may want to pass it to me for some mending._

_I'll pass you the remaining money the next time we meet._

_Sakura _

The edge of the copy-nin's mouth curled upwards slightly as he read the message. He picked up the clothes from the floor and opened it to get a full view of the articles.

It wasn't that bad. The shirt was black, with sleeves and the pants were white, reaching somewhere at his calf. Look like Sakura do have some taste in clothes. _And she was considerate too… _Maybe being good-looking does have its advantages.

He took off his own clothes and changed into the new ones. The new clothes suited him perfectly, both size and look. Picking up the damaged clothes and folding it neatly, he put it aside. He'll need to thank Sakura for all those that she had helped with and of course, a great 'thank you' for the beloved Hokage-sama.

Kakashi got out of the room and proceed to the living room. Everything was silent. He assumed Sasuke wasn't back yet, which was quite a good thing. He wouldn't want him to get over suspicious and start tailing him. His absence was what he needed right now. Walking out of the house, he headed the direction of his destination – the bridge.

0o0

(11.00pm)

"Yo."

"I see that you're early." A dark figure approached him, "That's something amazing."

"Habits die hard. It not as if I wanted to be on time… I've nothing to do and just decide to come out for a change." The copy-nin shrugged, "So any news of them?"

"Yea, looks like they are on the move. I'll continue to investigate them whereas you stay here and continue your life in the meantime. I'll keep you update as soon as I get news of their movements."

"So you're coming here everyday?"

"No way, securities in Konoha had gotten stricter. Even I'm having trouble sneaking in here without being seen. I wouldn't hesitate to kill them though…" Kakashi's 'friend' turned and looked up into the night sky, "… if it wasn't for your continuous naggings."

"Our objective was to get our enemies and not hurting the innocents. We can't go around revealing our identity especially yours… might end up stirring more troubles. I was too careless that time… letting Jiraiya and Tsunade aware of my true identity." Kakashi frowned, reminiscing of that time when he fainted and letting the two Sanins search his body.

"I would've assisted you with the fight if I wasn't fighting at that time, but what's done is done. We could only hope that they won't go around spreading it, although I doubt that they will. I'll drop a message for the next meeting and maybe there will be a need for you to leave the village someday."

"Fine…"The copy-nin nodded in consent.

"And…" He passed Kakashi a sack, "Your belongings are in here… kunais, shurikens, and scrolls if I didn't miss out anything. Also, I've put in the cloak which I was talking about that day. It used to be my partner's but since he's long gone, I've decided to pass it to you."

"Oh…" Kakashi peeked at the cloak he was talking about and sighed, "I need to hide this well…"

"Whatever you do, never let out any information. We're going to do it both alone since you insisted not to get Konoha involved in this matter… I understand you loyalty towards your own village."

"Thank you."

"Whatever." He performed a jutsu and a gust of wind blew past them. In a flash, he was nowhere in sight.

Kakashi hugged the sack in his arms tightly and went back to his 'home'.

0o0

**Thanks for reading and do review my story! DDD**

**Authors/ non-authors that I would like to thanks for reviewing my story:**

**Rika24**

**Prescripto13**

**Kakashifan**

**Fanimation-x-**

**RyuOokamiMaru**

**Nire Sanam**

**Lois McKinney**

**kidkakashi**

**I'll try to update ASAP! Reviewsssss XDDD**** ory! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey people! Chapter 4 is finally here! Pls enjoy and review! I'll try to update as soon as possible! Reviews are my source of inspiration!**

**Disclaimer: I do not owe Naruto.**

**0o0**

Kakashi stood in front of the door. He couldn't believe how dumb his luck was. Somehow, somewhat, Sasuke got home during the time when he was out. That wasn't really a problem though but what's bothering him was the fact that Sasuke had actually locked the door. He even locked all the windows to prevent Kakashi from going in. And now, the poor copy-nin was standing outside the apartment, trying to figure out a way to break in. Jutsus and strength are out since he is now currently in the position of a commoner.

"_So, basically I've no choices left." _he let out a bitter laugh and walked away since there was no other thing he could do. Might as well find some place where he could sleep comfortably and maybe the following day, he could find someone else who could offer him a room. "_Maybe Naruto or Sakura…"_

Kakashi had been wandering around for almost an hour. After so much walking, he still couldn't find anything that fits 'comfortable'… he had tried the bench in the park, atop of a tree but nothing seemed right for him. His steps were getting heavier by the minute from the exhaustion. He didn't get enough rest considering that he stayed awake for almost a week before encountering with Jiraiya. His body was screaming in agony from the tiredness… He desperately needed rest, even if it meant sleeping in the open. He felt the ground. It was grass.

"_At least it's better than the concrete surface…_"

Using his bag of stuff as his makeshift pillow, he lied down on the ground and fell asleep with no clue as to where he was. He shall think of that when he wakes up the next day… Sleep is the first priority.

0o0

"S-Sumimasen…" A hand could be felt on his shoulder followed by a gentle shake, "You are going to get a cold if you sleep o-out here."

Kakashi slowly opened his eyes and met white. That made him sprung up in surprise, at the same time, his forehead crashed into that person's nose. He shifted backwards and hurriedly felt for his eye patch. It was still there. Good thing he didn't take it off or else he would be recognized for his Sharingan. Feeling relieved, he looked up to see who the intruder was but instead, guilt overcame him. He must've been so tired such that he did not even sense his presence… or rather, _her_.

"Gomenasai… Did I hurt you badly?" Kakashi wanted to call out her name but stopped when he remembered his current identity. The person he bumped into was a girl around 18 (A/N: Kakashi is 16 for those who had forgotten), long black hair hung around her shoulders and her nose slightly red from the previous impact of his forehead.

"I-its okay… its not r-really that serious." She blushed and rubbed her nose, "M-my name's Hinata Hyuuga, I've never seen you before, a-are you new?"

"My name's Arashi. I am an orphan so there's no surname for me." Kakashi returned her with a smile. He recalled that she was the student of Kurenai and was the girl who blushed a lot and had a great crush on Naruto. It seemed that she had grown up into a beautiful and strong kunoichi… Kurenai should be proud of her…

"W-what are you doing here, A-Arashi-kun?"

"_She's trying to come up with a conversation." _The copy-nin figured. There was no way he could answer that question. He didn't even know where he was in the first place. All he remembered was being locked out by Sasuke and sleeping in some random space. He looked around his surroundings. He froze immediately upon coming face to face with a stone tablet with a very familiar name engraved on it:

_Uchiha Obito_

The words struck him as he finally came to knowledge that he was at the memorial. He was suddenly overwhelmed by grief as he stared at the name. He had no idea that he was sleeping in front of him all along… and to think he called himself a friend. Hinata, who was looking at him, seemed to notice the sudden emotions that flooded into his eyes.

"Is he r-related to you? I m-mean if it's not too personal…"

Kakashi was pulled violently back into reality. It took a while for him to register what she had said before giving her a reply.

"Aa… If you promise not to tell…"

"H-hai!" she blushed some more. Kakashi chuckled at her nervousness; he knew he could trust her. After all, he needed someone to talk to… someone who can listen to his pain that hadn't stopped haunting him since that day, years ago. And it seemed that Hinata was a trustworthy kunoichi whom you could share your pains with.

"Uchiha Obito… (A/N: Sorry to readers out there, but I'm not going to put Tobi as Obito) He's my good friend but unfortunately, he died at such a young age…" Kakashi felt tempted to tell her about the part where Obito saved him and pour out all the misery but he restrained himself to it.

There was silence. Then she spoke.

"I-it must have b-been painful for you… someone c-close to you dying, leaving you alone in this world without a-any one to care for you," she paused to think, "But still, you h-have to live on, continue on with life, getting stronger everyday, little by little, you will get stronger. There are no shortcuts in life and I believe Arashi-kun will get stronger. A-and Obito-san would be grateful that you've finally move on instead of always brooding over his death. He may have already gotten tired of looking at your depressed face."

Hinata let out a smile; her eyes always shone in the same manner; soft and encouraging. Kakashi was taken aback. Those words indeed had left an impression on him and for once in his entire life, he felt touched. He never knew Hinata was such a person when he was still a sensei… he came to realization that, when a person changes, his perspectives changes as well.

_How can Naruto be so oblivious as to not know that such an impressive woman had a crush on him?_

"Hinata-chan…" Kakashi whispered out, gaining her full attention, "Arigato."

A gust of wind blew across them both as they remained in their postures. Hinata finally let out a squeak as her face went a few more shades of red.

"A-as long Arashi-kun f-feels better, I-I am g-glad for you too."

"Hinata-sama." A voice came from behind her. She gasped in surprise and turned around.

"N-Neji-kun! W-what are you d-doing here?" The girl asked and suddenly realized what Neji had just called her. "P-please, j-just 'chan' will do…"

"I should be the one asking you why you are here… I had a hard time looking for you."

"G-gomen… I j-just feel like t-taking a walk…" she bowed her head in apology.

Neji's eyes softened and his mouth curled up slightly, "Don't worry; Hinata-chan. Tsunade-sama was just looking for you about some matters."

Hinata nodded and hurried off to the Hokage's tower. Neji turned and looked at Kakashi who was still sitting at his original place. The copy-nin stood up upon reaction and smiled at him which fortunately, Neji returned it with a smile of his own. Sometimes it's safer to make friends rather than enemies… especially with people like Neji.

"My name's Arashi, 16 this year."

"Hyuuga Neji, Age: 19. I've heard of you, Arashi-san, I hope you like it in Konoha."

"Yea… Konoha's a great place. It seemed that news travel fast; I've only been here for one day."

"Of course, with Naruto around, news spread exceptionally fast. Furthermore, I was present when Sakura-san asked Tsunade-sama of your financial assistance. I assume that you are going to become a ninja?"

"Yea… Naruto forced me to enroll in the Ninja Academy."

"Mmm… It's never too late to become a ninja though… you should take this chance to put your abilities to good use. It requires lots of skill to become a ninja… and lots of determination."

"_Like Naruto and his wish to become Hokage…"_

Kakashi was about to open his mouth when an ANBU appeared behind Neji. He whispered something into the Hyuuga's ear before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Neji remained silent for awhile before diverting his attention back to Kakashi again.

"That's an ANBU member, short for **An**satsu Senjutsu Tokushu **Bu**tai. They are specially trained ninjas that deal with assassinations and conducting high-risk missions into enemy countries. I am aiming to become one and serve the village with all that I have."

"_I'm sure you will be able to reach your goal considering your potential…"_

"I will be going now… There's a mission that requires my assistance. See you around, Arashi-san."

"Jya…"The copy-nin held up his hand. The Hyuuga nodded his head and leapt away in the distance, leaving Kakashi alone. He proceeded to picking up his stuffs and head in the direction of Ichiraku Ramen, where he will be able to find Naruto and Sakura easily. First thing he needed to do was to settle his lodging problem.

"Rest well, Obito." He gave the stone one last look and continued his road. Everyone had move on and maybe, he should move along in life too…

0o0

He was a kilometer away from the Ichiraku shop when he was spotted by a certain blonde. For some reason, Naruto started running in his direction upon sighting the copy-nin, his face displayed panic and worries. Kakashi halted in his tracks and watched Naruto approach him in a manner similar to a bullet train. It saved him the trouble of looking for the Kyubii anyway.

"ARASHI-KUN!! YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto grabbed him on the wrist and dragged him away, leaving a trail of dust behind them. Everything was going too fast for Kakashi to comprehend what was going on. Firstly, he wanted to look for Naruto. Secondly, Naruto saw him and dragged him along in his marathon. Just what the hell was going on?

Kakashi thought it was some kind of prank and allowed Naruto to continue his feat. The copy-nin was still clueless as to where the blonde was dragging him to, but not for long when he saw the building that Naruto was heading for… the NINJA ACADEMY. His instincts told him to run away as far as possible but unfortunately, his body won't move- Probably from suffering too much shock. Sakura was already at the door, waiting for the two's arrival. She was pacing in circles and glancing out in the distant occasionally. She finally stopped when Naruto's view came into sight.

"Took you long enough to find Arashi-kun… Lessons are starting in five minutes time." Sakura took over from there and it was her turn to run and drag Kakashi to the classroom. Sakura was in her chuunin vest, Kakashi noticed. _She must have retaken the test during my absence…_ But there was something else that was bugging him at the back of his mind. And that thing soon came to Kakashi's realization when the both of them stepped into the classroom.

"You are my teacher?!"

There was no answer so Kakashi took it as a 'yes'.

"Sorry I'm late, students! We have a new student here with us that will be joining us this spring. He will be giving us a self-introduction now." Sakura announced to the whole class, meanwhile trying to pull Kakashi into the room. Kakashi stood beside Sakura. All eyes were in him now, waiting for him to give his speech. Never in his life have he ever felt so embarrassed: having his own students as his teacher and now, him joining a class that consist of people a few times younger than him. He remained silent until Sakura nudged him.

"I'm Arashi. No surname. Age: 16. Dozo Yoroshiku."

"Please take a seat, Arashi." Sakura tried her best to look professional in front of him but found it hard considering the age gap to be only 2 years. He was more like a friend compared to a student in Sakura's eyes. _It was all Iruka-sensei's fault for falling sick… and me being so dumb to give in to his request on replacing him. _

Kakashi walked up the steps and sat in an empty row. At least he would have some peace without anyone to bother him especially children… he do not have to patience to tolerate them. He watched Sakura's movements as she walked to and fro, scribbling some notes on the blackboard and going on with the lesson. He had already known everything that was being taught in the Ninja Academy…he graduated from there at an age of 5 and became ANBU at 13. He's not called a child prodigy for nothing.

"_Sakura sure had grown…" _His lazy eye scanned his former student, showing a glint of pride, _"both physically and mentally."_

Sakura read out the information that she had wrote out and further explain into depths to the students. Actually, she was feeling uncomfortable inside. Every time she moved, she could feel Arashi's eye on her, even when her back was facing the class. Every gesture she made was all being seen and it made her feel vulnerable. She took a swift glance at him and gulped. That single eye alone with that eye patch reminded her terribly of her old sensei. The ability to make someone nervous just by looking at them was one of his specialties.

"_I wonder what's under that eye patch of his…_" Sakura thought, at the same time, trying her best to continue with class in a composed state.

0o0

Finally after what seemed like eternity, class finally ended. Sakura let out a sigh of relief. Never in her medical life had she felt so stressed. For almost the entire time, Arashi was staring at her, making every ounce of her feel uncomfortable. She waved to the students that were bidding her farewell and managed to force a smile in return. Every one of them had left the room except for Kakashi. He was waiting for her.

"Let's get going, Arashi-kun."

"You look tired, Sakura-chan." The copy-nin commented, not knowing that he was the cause of the phenomenon, "Do you need any help?"

"Ahaha… I-it's okay. Naruto's waiting for us!" she gave a nervous laugh.

Kakashi looked unconvincingly at her before approaching the exit, with Sakura behind him. Silence hung between the both of them as they walked through the corridors. It wasn't the kind of tension-filled silence whereby you felt very awkward. It was more of… comfortable silence. Sakura couldn't help but fix her glance at Kakashi's back. He was taller than her by a head despite her being older and he was more mature than any other 16 years old boy.

"_How is he able to do that? He can make you nervous just by staring at you but when he relaxes, it feels kind of warm. His eye no longer possess the effect back then during lesson time. It's almost like… Kakashi-sensei. Even his hair resembles him too…"_

Sakura let out a whimper upon the thought of the loss of her teacher. It was shocking news to her and it certainly dealt a great blow to her. She had always respected Kakashi-sensei as a teacher who cared for his students greatly. Even sometimes, she had seen him as a friend, especially during the period when Sasuke was missing. Kakashi was the one who helped calm her down other than Naruto.

Sakura was lost in her thoughts that she did not see that Arashi had stopped. Resulting in her bumping into him. Finally regaining some senses, she took a step backwards and apologized. Kakashi looked down at her. He had known her long enough to see that something was going on in her mind. The whimper that she gave out was also captured by his ears.

"Don't hide it, Sakura-chan, there's something definitely wrong with you."

"Just some thoughts… about my sensei…" Those words immediately woke Kakashi up. He was curious to know what she was thinking about him. It wasn't something you could hear on a daily basis.

"What about him?"

"Oh… nothing much though… His name was Hatake Kakashi, the legendary copy-ninja. He was Naruto, Sasuke, and my sensei during when we were still genins. 'Those who don't follow rules are trash, but those who don't care about their friend are worse than trash'. He would risk his life just to protect his comrades and that was what I respected him for. Although he's a pervert, going around reading those smut books of his, inside my heart, he will always be a great sensei… even, a friend." Sakura said, a hint of sadness could be heard in her voice.

"But recently, he was sent on a mission and due to that 'comrades are more important' theory of his, he was declared MIA which was also another way of labelling him as dead." Tears were now brimming at the edge of her eyes. She tried to control her emotions but failed horribly, once the first drop fell onto the cold, hard ground. She couldn't stop crying.

Kakashi felt as if his heart was stabbed by a thousand knives. He had always thought that Sakura would only shed her tears for Sasuke. And in her eyes, he's nothing but just a sensei to her. At that moment, he wanted so badly to shout out that he really is Kakashi and that he is still alive. But he couldn't. All he can do now is to give her words of consolation. Not to mention, he needed to restrain the whirlwind of emotions rampaging about within him.

"Don't cry, Sakura-chan… Haven't you ever thought that he might be still alive? He may be still living somewhere out there-" Kakashi was interrupted.

"You don't understand, Arashi-kun… Those people that were claimed MIA never ever came back to this village. They were all dead. And Kakashi-sensei is…" More tears dripped down her cheeks.

"_I understand, Sakura-chan… I have friends who are claimed MIA too. And not one ever came back."_

Kakashi let the medic-nin cried her heart out before speaking up.

"Naruto's waiting for us, Sakura-chan."

"Arashi-kun, please don't tell anyone about me crying… I don't want Kakashi-sensei to be upset over me crying for him." Sakura whispered out. He agreed and reassured her that he wouldn't leak that piece of information.

"_I won't be upset, Sakura. In fact, I'm glad to have such a caring student like you…" _

Kakashi stretched out his hand as she looked at him. Timidly, she held out her hand and met his which was instantly being pulled upwards. The copy-nin helped her up as the both of them headed towards the exit where Naruto was waiting… for them.

"Took you guys long enough… I've been waiting here for hours!" The blonde complained.

"Hai, hai… I shall treat you to ramen for being so patient, okay?" Sakura laughed when Naruto started bouncing upon the mention of his favourite food.

"_She really had grown mentally… and her acting skills are still the best in our team."_

"Joining us?" She asked Kakashi.

"Yea…"

"C'mon Arashi! I'll race you to Ichiraku!" Naruto shouted as he ran off with Kakashi running behind him. Sakura just walked behind, another thought in her mind.

"_Why am I able to open up so easily to Arashi-kun? Is it due to his resemblance to Kakashi-sensei? He does have grey hair and a single eye after all…" _

She pondered for a while but soon dismissed it when she heard her name being called by Naruto.

"_Maybe it's just_ _because of his trusting personality…_"

TBC

0o0

**I would like to thank the following non/authors for reviewing my stories:**

**Kakashifan915**

**Fanimation-x-**

**Rika24**

**NireSanam**

**Rodick**

**I apologize on the behalf of my friend who used my account to review my story. It was an accident. She wanted to review under anonymous but didn't see that I was logged in so in the end resulted in using my account to review my own story. Ahhhh… I hope that will not cause any misunderstanding. And if anyone know how to delete reviews pls help me… T.T Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yay! Finally chapter 5 is up! A big hug and thank you to those who reviewed my story! **

**Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto**

**0o0**

_(Chapter 5)_

"One Miso Ramen!" Naruto shouted after much thought. The three of them were sitting in the shop, with Kakashi in between the other two. As promised, Sakura agreed to treat Naruto to his all-time favourite and that's the reason of their appearance at Ichiraku.

"I will have the Char-Siew Ramen." (A/N: Don't ask me why, but char-siew Ramen was one of them in the anime)

"Miso-Ramen…"

The Ichiraku owner gave a grin and went to work on his orders. He had predicted that the blonde would patronize his shop any moment that day. After all, Naruto has been their frequent customer for years. And it was all thanks to his love for ramen that create such a bond between him and the shop. Meanwhile his daughter, Ayame, went over to the three of them and served their drinks.

"I've never seen your face before. Are you new?" Ayame couldn't help but asked. She had seen almost all of the people in the village at least once… but not his.

"I- …" Kakashi opened his mouth to reply only to be cut off by a certain big-mouth ninja.

"His name is Arashi! An orphan found by Ero-sennin and was put under MY care by Tsunade-baasan! He is two years younger than me and is currently studying in the ninja academy!" he placed a finger on his chin, "Sugoi…That makes me his mentor dattebayo! Isn't that great? I'm a teacher! He will have to listen to me and I'm going to…" Naruto continued his rantings, totally unaware of a killing instinct that was directed at him.

"_LIES! I am the teacher and you are my student!"_

Kakashi felt the urge to strangle and stab Naruto with a kunai. But being a humble and docile commoner, furthermore, his used-to-be wonderful sensei, there's no way he could bring himself to do it. Luckily though, everything ended when the food came in. Naruto took a pair of chopsticks, his mouth watering when the rich scent of the ramen reached him.

"Itadakimasu!"

0o0

"AHH!! Nothing's better than a stomach filled with ramen!" Naruto gave a satisfied look as he released a loud burp. In a flash, Sakura's fist came down on his head. The copy-nin just stared at him in disgust.

"Itaii…"

"At least say 'excuse me', will you?!"

Naruto winced in pain and rubbed his head where a bump had already formed.

"Hai hai… ne, by the way Arashi-kun" Naruto turned to Kakashi, "where did you go this morning? I couldn't find you at Sasuke's apartment. He made a grouchy face and chased me out when I asked for you. That guy…" his crossed his arms and pouted. He was still unhappy about the fact that the Uchiha actually threw an apple at him for his intrusion. Sakura's punch had created the second bruise on his head that day.

"I-I was locked outside by Sasuke last night." Kakashi mumbled as his voice start to diminish, "And I was wondering if…"

"What did you say, Arashi-kun? I can't hear you." The blonde craned his neck closer to the grey-haired boy.

"Its okay, Arashi-kun, you can tell us any problem if you are facing any of them." Sakura placed her hand on his shoulder as a sign of console. Her smile was beckoning Kakashi to spill out everything. Sakura wasn't called the smartest in Team seven for nothing…

"Aa… It's j-just… I was wondering if I could stay with one of you two. I don't really interact well with Sasuke-san, you see… He hates me." He said bluntly. His fingers were crossing and uncrossing behind him, hoping that either one of them would accept his request.

"Of course! You can always stay at my house!" Naruto beamed at him. That caused Sakura to frown in disagreement.

"Your house is too small, Naruto. Furthermore, you can't even take care of yourself, not to mention Arashi-kun."

"Dattebayo… What about your house, Sakura-chan?"

She gulped. She would be glad to help her friend but unfortunately, it was her parents that might not see eye to eye with this subject. She shook her head slowly. Kakashi let out a sigh in defeat. His hopes were all washed down the drain. Maybe he should go back to Sasuke's apartment? Or maybe he will end up sleeping in the open for months? Who knows?

"Never mind then… I'll find someway to settle this. Thanks anyway." He got down from his seat and walked away. How the hell is he going to settle this? He thought as he continued dragging his feet through the streets. A cry from Sakura was all that needed to stop him in his tracks. He turned back and saw the pink hair medic running towards him, her voice calling for him to slow down.

"Arashi-kun! I've just remembered my parents were away on a mission. The most I could afford might be two days maximum. Then maybe we'll help you find someone after that. Is it alright for you?" She managed to force out the words while trying to catch her breath. He was so engrossed in thinking such that he didn't know he had been traveling for some time. From the way Sakura ran, it was obviously quite a long way.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan… if there's a way to repay you, I'll definitely do it!" Kakashi couldn't help as a smile crept up his lips. At least no more sleeping outside in the open…

"By the way, Naruto says he's going to confront Sasuke tomorrow."

_NO WAY!!! Somebody stop him!_

"Don't worry; He's just getting him back for chasing him out this morning." Sakura watched Kakashi's reaction in amusement. It was priceless. There wasn't anymore verbal interaction between the both of them as they walked along the pavement.

0o0

The copy-nin flinched as the door slam behind him. The house was dead silent. Not a single presence except for Sakura and him. She was busy taking off her shoes therefore not seeing the uncomfortable look in his eyes plus he was getting really fidgety. NEVER in his thirty-two years did he ever stay overnight in the apartment of the opposite sex. To make things worse, it was just both of them… _alone_. He shook his head and pushed away the dirty thoughts that were invading his mind.

_It's all Tsunade's fault for burning all my Icha-Icha books…_

He immediately diverted his attention back to Sakura who was waving a hand at him.

"Are you alright?"

"Sorry… just spaced out." he raised his hand and placed it at his nape. It was a habit of his especially when he's nervous. His mind couldn't stop reciting curses for the lack of his smut books. Life is so not fair.

He took off his shoes and went inside. There were only a couch, a bookshelf and a coffee table laid neatly in the living room. It wasn't surprising since females are generally neater than males. Kakashi plopped himself on the couch meanwhile taking in more of the details. His eyes jerked away when he met with Sakura's green orbs.

"It's getting late. We should go sleep." She shot him a quizzical look when he scooted away from her.

"I-I'll take the couch then."

"_She has no idea how wrong it sounds…"_

"Oh, fine with me… Goodnight then, Arashi-kun." She gave him another weird expression before going into her room to turn in for the night.

"Good night…" he finally released the breath that he had been holding for so long. Many things had happened in such a short while… how long is this going to last for him? His eyelid grew heavier and it wasn't long before he went into a deep slumber. He won't be having the chance to sleep once that _time_ comes…

0o0

Sakura slightly opened her door and peeked at the sleeping boy. Curiosity was prodding into her mind and it was growing stronger by the second. There's something she needed… no, she _wanted_ to know desperately. Stealthily, she crept up to the copy-nin just like how a snake would do to its prey. Making as minimum noise as she could, she kneeled down next to his sleeping figure and stared at his face.

_Good. He's asleep._

Slowly and steadily, her arms rose up and approached his face. She unknowingly gave a gulp as her petite fingers rested on his eye patch. Her heart was throbbing with excitement as her face grew warmer. She placed her thumb beneath the cloth and took a deep breath before lifting it up. But before she could lift another millimeter higher, a hand suddenly grabbed her arm. Everything was a blur for a second and the next thing she knew, her arms were pinned tightly behind her and she was being pushed against the floor violently.

"Who are you and what are you trying to do?" Kakashi's voice sounded out dangerously. When he got no respond, he pressed the intruder harder against the cold, hard ground. Sakura was in great pain. Furthermore, she found herself unable to use her chakra to counter him. She came to conclusion that he was stronger than her… physically. At last, unable to bear the pain, she cried out.

Kakashi heard the feminine voice and immediately released her as he backed a few steps. He didn't know it was her. The environment was too dark for him so he presumed it to be an enemy's assailant. Scrambling for the lights, he frantically switched it on. The lights flickered for sometimes before settling down. Just as he expected, it was Sakura. Her arms were blue-black from the intense pressure and tears had already rolled down her cheeks. Her hair was in a chaotic mess.

"I-I'm sorry, Sakura-chan… I'm really sorry…" The copy-nin apologized profusely meanwhile taking small steps towards her. She was trembling in fear for what had just happened. He doesn't blame her though… who wouldn't be scared when he is being attacked by another party?

"No, it's my fault for trying to look under that eye patch… I shouldn't have done it in the first place." She sniffed and wiped another tear away, "please don't blame yourself, Arashi-kun."

Kakashi reached out his hand to help her but she backed away as fear continued flashing in her eyes. She was avoiding the hand that had hurt her earlier on. How ironic.

"B-But why? Why do you want to take off my eye patch?"

"Y-You still remember what I've told you about Kakashi-sensei?"

A nod was her reply.

"It may be coincidence or something, but you look a lot like him. He had grey hair too and his left eye is usually covered by his hitai-e just like how yours is covered by an eye patch… that's why I got so curious about your eye. I won't do it again, I swear!" Her guilty eyes met him as his onyx ones looked back. What could he do? He couldn't possibly hate his student right?

"I trust you, Sakura-chan…" Kakashi gave a sigh, "As for this eye, it was just one of the injuries I've got from facing a ninja."

"What happened?"

"He stabbed my eye with a kunai."

"…"

Silence hung in the room.

It was partially true. His eye got injured due to him protecting Obito from the rock-nin that time. If he hadn't got there on time, Obito would have already got killed. It was also because of this eye incident that allowed Obito's Sharingan to be activated. But everything was futile. He still died in the end for saving Kakashi's life.

"Go back, Sakura." He walked past the girl and sat on the couch, "and please don't ever do it again."

She remained quiet as she bit her lips tightly. There were still doubts that she wanted to clarify. She wanted to know who exactly he was. She also wanted to know why he was this strong. It doesn't make sense at all. A commoner like him shouldn't be able to stand her inhuman strength… unless if he was Kakashi himself. But even if he was Kakashi, why must he hide from everyone? What happened to him during those months of absence?

More and more questions built up in her mind. Nevertheless, there's no way she could ask Arashi now. And since he trusted her that much, she should trust him back as equally. If he claimed that he is not Kakashi-sensei then she shall let it be the one and only truth. No more doubts or suspicions about him. That's the most she could do for now.

"So you are not Kakashi-sensei?" her timid voice came out.

Kakashi paused hesitantly. This was one hard question to answer. He _is_ Kakashi, but he can't reveal his identity either. Such hard choices…

"No, Sakura."

That's was all it took. The girl regained her composed state as a smile graced her lips. She approached the copy-nin and halted directly beside him. Kakashi unconsciously raised his head and faced her.

"Is anything wrong?"

"You know… I forgot one thing important. Although you resemble Kakashi-sensei, you are definitely not him. For one thing, you are more open than him. Even when he's dead now, we still didn't get to know anything from his past. He always kept things to himself, keeping his emotions bottled up."

"I-I'm more open?" he pointed to himself as his eyes widened by a fraction.

"Yes… and goodnight, Arashi." She let out an empty chuckle before gliding past him and back to her room. The door clicked upon signaling its closure. Kakashi didn't move from his spot. He was still unable to believe what he had just heard.

"_I didn't realize that now that she mentioned it… considering these few days, I was indeed more outgoing… but why? I never felt this easiness to communicate when I'm with 'him'. (A/N: His secret partner, heehee)" _

He never got time to think. The next thing he knew, it was dark again.

0o0

The radiance of the sunlight shone through the transparent window, signaling the start of a fresh new day. But Kakashi thought otherwise. He wasn't really feeling 'fresh', rather, he felt 'rotten'. The copy-nin closed his eyes tighter and turned to his side hoping to shut out the light that was disrupting his sleep. It works fortunately but another source of disruption soon came along.

"Wake up, Arashi-kun." A voice that was too familiar called out to him.

"Another five minutes… Zzz."

"I'm going to be late for my work if you don't wake up soon."

"Yea, I know… Zzz…"

"Arashi-kun! Wake up now will ya?!"

"Zzz…"

Sakura towered over the unaware sleeping ninja as she cracked her knuckles. Following it was a shout from Kakashi and a few minutes of violence for which the author do not wish to include in… Ohhh, look! A butterfly!

-------

"Glad you are finally awake." Two plates of bread were placed atop of the table, "Eat up quickly."

"You can sometimes be useful as an alarm clock, you know?" Kakashi looked into the mirror with a first aid kit sitting in front of him. Fortunately the wounds weren't that serious. The only one that he doesn't really enjoy looking at was the scratch on the bridge of his nose. It was all her fault for marring his skin… Unwillingly, he pasted a plaster on it and glance at his image.

"I look like Iruka now…" he commented which earned a giggle from Sakura, "I hope it wouldn't last too long."

"Don't worry; from my years of medical knowledge, it will disappear after some time. By the way, it looks nice on you." Another fits of laughter came out which allowed her to receive a glare.

"I prefer my original face for your information."

"Hmm… I will remember to put more scars the next time… anyway, how did you come to know of Iruka-sensei? I don't remember you meeting him."

_Think! Kakashi, think!_

"Eeto… N-Naruto showed me his picture once." That was a good lie. She simply shrugged and continued eating her breakfast.

0o0

"Door, keys, windows, medical report… I hope I've got everything." Sakura muttered under her breath. She hurriedly walked towards Konoha Hospital with Kakashi behind, trying his best to keep up the pace.

"_It doesn't hurts to be late you know?"_

The copy-nin could only roll his eyes and continue hastening his steps.

They managed to reach there just a minute earlier, and for that, Sakura let out a sigh of relief. Kakashi, you know… just felt nothing. He was late for almost every appointment he had in his life. It was already considered great if he was to be late for ten minutes. Probably need a miracle for him to actually be on time… both of them entered the door which automatically slid open upon sensing a presence.

"I see that you are on time, forehead girl." Ino was smirking at her, "Sasuke came and greeted me just now. He was so… dashing!!"

"Shut up, Ino-pig."

Sakura went to the counter and confront her rival.

"I thought you would always reach here an hour earlier? What happen to the hardworking Sakura-chan I know?"

"I would love to be early, Ino-pig, if it wasn't for him." Sakura pointed to Kakashi who was looking innocently at her.

"Me?"

It was Sakura's turn to grin triumphantly when Ino's smirk became a frown. It was obvious that she was jealous. Arashi might just be one of the best-looking guys around other than Sasuke. And that was what that made Ino piss off.

"No way… he slept over at your place?"

"Beat that, Ino-pig."

"T-That's impossible! Is it true, Arashi? You slept at her house?!" The blonde girl stood up and slammed her hands on the desk. There's no way…

"Yes I did… why would you ask?" The copy-nin's single eye creased up as he gave a smile, "It's only for one day though."

"Fine, you win, Sakura-CHAN. Go up and start working already." Ino huffed in defeat.

"One more thing, Ino-pig, be sure to add a 'san' if you are to ever call Arashi-kun again." She then turned to the boy who was still confused with what was going on. "Arashi-kun! Don't forget you lessons!" And she walked away.

"_It was only two day and I am already treated as an object of affections. I finally understand how Sasuke felt… Having girls boasting about whatever they had to do with you… it makes us feel so lowly."_ Kakashi shuddered when Ino sent her a death glare. _"Girls are scary."_

There was still a few more hours before his lessons at ninja academy starts.

"Yo." A masculine voice sounded behind from him, "You must be that Arashi that Naruto had been talking about."

He turned to come face to face with… Nara Shikamaru.

0o0

**In this case, Sakura is only treating Kakashi as a brother. No romance feelings. **

**Reviews pls!! Domou Arigatou desu!**

**Thanks to non-authors/authors who review my story:**

**Fanimation-x-**

**Frozen waterz**

**Rika24**

**Nire Sanam**

**Eldr-Fire**

**Prescripto13**

**Kakashifan**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys! Chapter 6 is finally out! Thanks to all the reviewers who had been reviewing my story so far! Love ya xD **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters from it**

**0o0**

(Chapter six)

"I'm Arashi alright… You are?"

"I know it's troublesome but my name is Shikamaru Nara." The boy greeted and stood next to him, "I met Naruto this morning and he mentioned about you. So I thought it would be polite to drop by to visit."

"_News REALLY travels fast with Naruto around…"_

"Thank you, Nara-san. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Just Shikamaru will do. I'm not really used to people addressing me by my surname. It's too troublesome anyway." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and scratched the back of his neck.

"_Shikamaru Nara… Mm… the genius boy from Asuma's group if I'm not wrong…"_

"Ohayo, Shikamaru!" Ino shouted from her desk, "What brings you here?"

"Ohayo." Shikamaru glanced at her and nodded his head in recognition of her presence, "Tsunade's request."

He then dug into his pocket, retrieving a packet a cigarette which was too familiar to Kakashi. It was the same brand that Asuma used. Shikamaru proceeded by picking a stick out of the box and placing it in between his upper and lower lips. Ransacking another pocket, he took out a lighter and light his cigarette. Before the flame could even appear, a shuriken whizzed past right before his face, cutting the cigarette into half.

"If you've not forgotten, you are currently in a hospital." Ino voice came out, "Even Asuma-sensei _knows_ not to smoke here."

"How troublesome…" the Nara kid sighed and stuffed both the packet and lighter back where it was supposed to be in. Kakashi chuckled as he recalled the times when Kurenai had to threaten a breakup with Asuma just to make him stop smoking. And it was only the hospital.

A squeal was heard as both the boys lifted their head and turned towards the source. It came from Ino. She was leaning against the counter, her eyes was shining with eagerness. Her mood took a hundred and eighty degrees turn, compared to what happened a few minutes ago. The reason was soon revealed when a raven-haired boy walked out of the corridor.

"Sasuke-kun! How was the meeting? It went well? Yes? Of course with such a genius like you…"

Sasuke gave a mere nod which of course, was a completely different thing to fanatic girls such as Ino. Kakashi groaned mentally when he felt the Uchiha's stare on him. Shikamaru, being the smart one immediately felt the hostility towards the copy-nin.

"Hi there, Sasuke." Shikamaru greeted hoping to lighten the atmosphere.

"Hi, Shikamaru and _Arashi-kun.­_" The Uchiha walked past the both of them, his eyes never seemed to leave poor Kakashi. The staring issue finally stopped when Sasuke went out of the hospital. Only then did Kakashi dared to breathe.

"_To think they were so innocent back then…"_

Of course he would gladly stared back at him but not at the expense of getting into more trouble. His current mission was to keep a low profile of himself, not make himself stick out like a sore thumb.

"You must really have done something aggravating to have him hate you to such extent." Kakashi almost forgot the existence of Shikamaru.

"I don't know… he was the one who started hating me first," the copy-nin shrugged, "and deprived me of a place to stay."

"Aa… That guy's always so troublesome…"

"_I agree… but what can I do? He's my student…"_

"Oh, time's up. Thanks to Sasuke I didn't get a chance to talk. Guess I'll be seeing you somewhere." He glanced at the clock, "and if you are lacking a place to stay in, you can always stay in mine. I'm sure my parents won't mind that much. Jya ne."

Kakashi could have done a victory dance back then if there weren't people around. It seemed that things are turning out well for him and he couldn't be happier. Taking a quick glance at the clock, he concluded that he still had time to make his way to the academy, **considering that lessons had just only started**.

The copy-nin could later be seen strolling along the pavement, walking leisurely at his own pace to the ninja academy despite the fact that he was late for lessons. It was well-known to everyone that lateness was a trademark of his. Furthermore, he didn't even consent to go there in the first place, so why should he care about the time? Ten minutes isn't that long anyway…

0o0

"ARASHI! You are late for thirty minutes!" Iruka-sensei shouted out when he saw the boy walking in the classroom. That earned a few giggles from the class and a _very _angry Iruka. "What reasons do you have?"

"I saw this old lady on my way and…" The whole class burst into laughter.

"I don't find that particularly funny, Arashi. You are the eldest in this class and I expect you to set a good example for the rest. Not teach them how to make up lame excuses!" Iruka's voice could be heard echoing throughout the room. Everyone immediately kept silent. People do have their limits after all and that includes Iruka too. From the way he was shouting, it was an obvious signal for them to stop.

"Everyone! We are going out for field practice!" Groans were heard throughout the students. Some of them were even glaring at Kakashi, who seemed the least affected by what had just happened.

"We are going to practice throwing shurikens and well… you know the rest." The man announced as more groans erupted from the class.

"_Let see what you can do, Arashi."_

Everyone took their turns at the practice while Iruka busied himself with the recording of each student's progress. Finally, it was Kakashi's turn… and what all of them were waiting for. The class once more began their words of exchange amongst themselves. Most of it consisted of them blaming him for the incident earlier on.

Kakashi sighed. Those kids just don't know when to stop, do they? Without even flinching, he drew out five shurikens and threw them towards the pole. Each one of them hit their marks and landed nicely in a straight line, one above another. The rest could only just gape at what they've witnessed.

"T-That's… amazing, Arashi. I don't remember Sakura doing shuriken practice yesterday… but it's really something… considering you've only taken lessons for two days." A wide smile spread across the teacher's features, _"Reminds me of Sasuke…"_

Kakashi tucked his hands into his pockets. Needless to say, this was child's play for him. They have only themselves to blame for ever doubting his skills. The copy-nin smirked inwardly. In other people's eyes, he would only be a normal kid just like anyone else and he was grateful for that. He passed his childhood with great misery because of the accident that happened to his father. Everyone in the town would shoot dirty glares at him and no one would ever acknowledge his presence in school.

"Everyone split for practice now!" Iruka stood up before turning to him, "Arashi, I need to talk to you for a moment."

Both of them waited for the children to get involved in their things before continuing with their own stuffs.

"Arashi, I can already see that you have great potential, but do remember: punctuality is also an important key a ninja must take note of. I don't want to see you late the next time, okay Arashi?" He grinned, "You know, you really look like my friend, Hatake Kakashi and I must say you habit is exactly like him especially with that excuse of yours… He was a prodigy at young and I can see you growing to become a genius ninja like him."

"_Thank you."_

"Just don't be late the next time. It's brings bad impression for other people."

"_I knew that already."_

Nodding his head, Kakashi walked away. One thing he couldn't stand was lectures. He halted on the spot when a kunai flew past him, missing his head by a few centimeters. There was a paper tied on the kunai and the copy-nin immediately knew who it was from. Unseen to the others, he took off the paper and unfolded it:

_Kakashi,_

_I'll be waiting for you at the bridge right after your ACADEMY lessons._

_Your good friend_

Seriously, doesn't anyone see him? Kakashi folded the piece of paper and pushed it into his pocket. He's strong after all… there's no way he will be detected that easily.

"_A prodigy when young… just like me…"_

It was a few hours later when the dismissal bell went off. The students cheered and hastily ran off to meet their parents…all except for Kakashi. He supposed to be an orphan anyway… no parents to fetch him from school. The copy-nin lazily trudged out of the academy when he caught Iruka's worried glance. The copy-nin gave a reassuring smile… one that indicated he's going to be fine alone. Iruka was always concerned for parentless children such as Naruto and Sasuke which explains his affections for the kyuubi. He understood their pain… and he wished to help them. That's his personality. And for that, Kakashi took off his hat in respect for his actions.

"Don't be late for the next lesson, Arashi!"

0o0

(At the bridge)

"Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here?" Kakashi asked in pure shock. He should be meeting his _friend, _not his former student. And from the handwriting, it's definitely not from the Uchiha currently standing right in front of him.

"This is a henge, idiot… and to think you are the great copy ninja, Hatake Kakashi. What a disappointment."

"Gomen… I was too surprised to notice the difference. A good imitation anyway, you look like the real thing."

"Whatever. By the way, you're late."

"Aa… there was a black cat and I have to…" Kakashi gave an eye crease and placed his hand on back of his neck causing his friend to glare at him.

"Save your excuses. More importantly, I have news of _him._"

"That's good… The faster we settle this…"

"I wouldn't say its good at all, Hatake. I just found out he had detonated his old basement and let's just say it's going to take some time before we find his new hideout. Plus without your help, it's really going to take quite some time."

"Damn…"

"Yes, 'damn' fits this situation perfectly. And do settle down soon, it's tough for me to find you when you keep running about."

"I don't know…" Shikamaru's image came to Kakashi's mind.

"It would be good if you avoid staying with people that have sharp senses. People like the Nara and Hyuuga are definitely out. I would prefer I you stay at the Kyuubi's house."

"I'll try…"

"Good. I'm going off now and don't expect to hear for me soon."

Like before, he did a few hand signs and disappeared in a puff. Kakashi waved at his departure and walked off. _Now to find Naruto… _

0o0

He wasn't that hard to find at all. As usual, the top suspected areas would be Ichiraku Ramen and true enough, there he was sitting there all alone. Perfect.

"ARASHI-KUN! Over here!" The blonde shouted across and waved enthusiastically at him. Kakashi smiled and nodded his head. He approached the shop and sat next to Naruto who was beginning on his third bowl of ramen.

"Naruto-kun."

"Hmpff?" the blonde looked at him with noodles hanging out of his mouth. The copy-nin had a hard time containing his laughter at the sight.

"Do you mind if I stay at your house for the time being? Sakura's parents are back and I currently have no place to stay." His found his fingers to be extremely interesting.

Naruto continued looking at him before his words finally registered. A grin appeared as he slurped up the hanging escarpments from his mouth.

"Of course, Arashi-kun! I'm willing to let you stay even if it means staying there for the rest of your life! After all, that's what friends are for!" Naruto's hand went down on Kakashi's back which took him by surprise. The copy-nin forced a smile back. Naruto basically lived off ramen for a living. That alone might just drive Kakashi nuts. He'll need to find some other ways for food management…

"Thanks a lot, Naruto-kun!"

0o0

(Naruto's apartment)

"Ahaha… This place is a bit messy, hope you don't mind…" Naruto laughed nervously as he opened the door to his humble abode. Kakashi stared at the mess lying in the room. It wasn't 'a bit'; rather it was 'very' messy. How does he even produce that much waste?! But of course, Kakashi have no rights to comment about others since he himself is an untidy person too.

"Maybe we can do some clean up before going to sleep?" Kakashi gritted his teeth as he forced the words out. He swore he will change for the better next time if he ever gets a chance… Thoughts of him sleeping among those pile of rubbish just isn't to his liking.

"Sure, dattebayo! Let start cleaning up!"

You mention it, they have it. Kakashi found the rubbish to be the most interesting: Expired milk, Takoyaki, Sushi rolls, ramen cups, potato chips, apple cores… there were so many that Kakashi couldn't memorise at least half of what was present on the ground.

After one hour of toil and hardship, they managed to clean up what's in the living room, excluding bedrooms and the kitchen. That was one tough feat to complete… And to think he's going to stay here for weeks or maybe, even months…

Kakashi slumped down on his couch. He knew it was rude to do it especially in someone else's house. But his legs were close to giving way after those cramps he got from bending down over a long period. Naruto too, slumped down beside him as he let out a huff.

"Iyaa… I didn't know cleaning up would be so tiring… it's worse than the training that Kakashi-sensei used to give us…"

"Really?"

"Sou sou! That perverted sensei always walking around with a porn book. During training, he would let us do all the jobs while he just sits under the shade and read his book. Giving us ridiculous trainings…" Naruto crossed his arms. Kakashi could feel a vein popping out from his forehead.

"But at least the trainings did help you right?"

"Although I hate to admit, but they do really help me in my stamina and chakra control… too bad I only realize it when Kakashi-sensei was gone…" His smile turned into a frown as his eyes was engulfed by sadness.

"_Why do all of them always think that I'm dead?! Can't they at least have a bit of faith in me?!"_

"Dattebayo! Let's get some sleep now! I'm really getting tired…" The kyuubi container let out a stiff yawn, "since its weekend tomorrow and there's no lesson for you, maybe I'll help you with some training…"

"I don't think that's necessary, Naruto-kun…" Too late. He was fast asleep… on the couch. Kakashi sighed and took the floor that they had been trying so hard to clean. The couch supposedly should be his place but since Naruto is sleeping in it… Kakashi put his bag next to him and lay on the parquet floor. The room soon fell silent and all that you can see is Naruto and the copy-nin, sleeping peacefully.

0o0

**Reviews! Thanks!**

**Thanks to the following non/authors who reviewed for my previous chap:**

**Thinkerandwriter**

**Rika24**

**MemoriesOfNobody**

**Nire Sanam**

**Fanimation-x-**

**Kakashifan**

**Frozen Waterz**

**Prescripto13**

**Elektric Storm**

**FanGirlForKakashi**

**Eldr-Fire**

**Keep up with the reviews :D Hugs for all of you! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Finally! I'm so sorry to you guys out there for taking such a long time to update… especially when school reopens… it's really very busy with the amount of homework being issued each day. My beta was also busy with her work hence the editing took quite some time. T.T Sorry! I will try to update as soon as possible! **

**Meanwhile, enjoy the chap! **

**Disclaimer: I don not owe Naruto or any of its characters**

0o0

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm so glad you came back safely!" Naruto exclaimed as tears brimmed from his eyes. Sakura and Sasuke were behind him, Sakura wiping a drop of tear from her cheek and Sasuke was smiling warmly. He had come back from the long and treacherous journey. Like he said, he shall not involved Konoha in this fight and well, he succeeded. He gave a slight grin as Naruto pounced and hugged him.

Everything felt right.

He doesn't mind the fact that he remained in his current age and size, he doesn't mind all the misunderstandings that happened between him and his students. All he cared was the happy faces of his important people around him. He had worried them. Revealing his true identity at the very day he went out of Konoha with his partner. He was met with tears of sadness at that time when he left, but the tears he was seeing now meant something else, something much more significant in his life.

"I'm so worried, Kakashi-sensei…" It was Sakura's turn to hug him right after Naruto was being peeled off by Sasuke. He could feel his right shoulder dampened as tears flowed down her eyes. Her hug was tighter compared to Naruto, mainly due to the mixture of her inhuman strength plus the emotions running within her. It wasn't long when they pulled apart, only to hear a muffle cough coming from the Uchiha.

"Good job bringing yourself back in one complete piece, sensei." It was sarcastic as usual but Kakashi could sense the relief in his voice. A tapped on the shoulder was enough to bring his body swirling to face his back. Standing right behind him, was the rest of his friends he had made during that short period… Shikamaru, Neji, Hinata… even Jiraiya and Tsunade was present.

Everyone was so happy. That brought a relief smile upon Kakashi's face.

"_I see that you are happy, Kakashi-kun. Are these the people who made you so happy?"_ A foreign yet familiar voice interrupted which brought Kakashi alertness to high gear. He looked around his surroundings. All of his friends were still laughing among themselves and smiling, totally oblivious to the happenings around. Damn.

"Come out and face me like a shinobi, will you?!" he shouted out to no one in particular. Everyone's eyes were now fixated on him from the sudden outburst.

"_I won't touch them if they really made you that cheerful, Kakashi-kun, maybe something else…"_

"Don't you dare lay a finger on them, you sick bastard!" he retorted earning more puzzled look.

"Are you okay, Kakashi-sensei? Maybe you've overexerted yourself…" Sakura walked towards him and place a hand on his forehead.

Before her hand could even touch him, a deep gash appeared out of nowhere on her back as blood started to gush out freely. That earned a gasped from the crowd as he witnessed his student fell lifelessly onto the ground. Blood was still flowing out from the wound as it formed a puddle of blood beneath her figure. Kakashi immediately knelt down and grabbed her trembling hands.

"Sakura! Don't die! Sakura…!" The copy-nin screamed out her name repeatedly as the rest just stared at the scene unfolding before them.

"_That was only a warm up, Kakashi."_ There was the voice again.

"No!"

Hinata's voice could be heard next as an identical gash was made known on her chest. It was shortly followed by Shikamaru's, then Neji and so on. Everyone lay motionless and bloodied on the ground. Only Naruto was left standing, his jaws wide opened.

"_I've got to save Naruto… I've got to save Naruto…" _he released his grasp on Sakura and ran over to the standing boy,_ "Please let me make it in time…"_

"K-Kakashi-sensei, what's happening?"

"Get away from there, Naruto! Nigeru!" He yelled at the top of his voice, hoping he would just listen and run.

"Datte, datte… Kaka-" Naruto didn't even get to finish his name when the same incident befell him as he joined his friends. Kakashi was late by a second. He glanced at the dead bodies on the ground, horror and disgust all painted over his face. The smell of rust engulfed him as he found himself crouching down, crying.

"_Sou sou… that's the face I've wanted to see."_ Although Kakashi couldn't see him, he could feel a sadistic glee shining down upon him. It wasn't pleasant. A diabolical laugh rang out simultaneously from behind him.

"_What's the matter? You were so happy just a few minutes ago, why the sad face now?" _A blade could be felt pressing against his nape, "_You miss your friends? Don't worry; you'll be joining them as soon as I'm done with you." _

The whole place started shaking uncontrollably. Kakashi's eyes just continued gazing at his companions especially the Kyuubi container whom he failed to save.

"Naruto…" The shaking became more violent.

0o0

"Wake up, Arashi-kun!" Naruto shook the sleeping copy-nin. When he found that there was no respond, he shook even harder, "Arashi-kun, it's already twelve! We've got to train you!"

"Naruto…" That caused Naruto to perk up, thinking that he was awake. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't really what he had thought. He pouted when he was met with soft snoring from Kakashi again.

"_That's it._ _Arashi_-_kun is definitely going to wake up."_ The blonde took in a deep breath before flexing his arms and cracking his knuckles. Firmly, he gripped on the collar of the sleeping man and started shaking him like a mad man. That ought to wake him up…

"Yamenasai, Naruto!" Kakashi was fully awake now. This was worse than the dream he just had… Naruto stopped and allowed him to gain his balance. He was glad that his eye patch didn't come off in the midst of all those shakings. Feeling giddy, he tried to focus on Naruto's face. The blonde was already in his usual orange outfit, his forehead protector shone brightly due to the reflection of the sunlight from the windows.

"Come on, Arashi-kun! We don't have all day to spend!" Without even letting Kakashi speak a single word, he took him by the arms and went running out of the house hurriedly. The copy-nin just gave a sigh, a feeling of déjà vu overwhelming him.

0o0

"We're here!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. Naruto had brought him to none other than Team Seven's training ground- The place where the four of them, including him, would usually gather for group activities. That was of course, in the past. Soon everyone got busy with their life and this area became nothing but a fragment of memory hidden somewhere in their mind.

"This is my old training ground, which also used to be my team's gathering spot. It's been a long time since I've last been here… kind of missed the days then."

Kakashi couldn't help as he felt a wave of nostalgia washed over him. He hadn't been there for a long time too. How he had missed the times where they sat together and chatted happily, the times where they sparred together. But everything was so different now. They were always so happy together back then, until the day when Sasuke left for Orochimaru. Kakashi had always thought that once Sasuke comes back, everything would be just like before… Team seven living happily ever after.

He was wrong.

Yes, team seven was still close to each other, helping one another in times of need, but the smiles and laughter in the present was nothing compared to the past. That's what shinobi's life was about. As time goes by, life gets busier… and the people around you changed. Sakura busy being a medic-nin, Sasuke and Naruto busily aiming to become a Jounin. And as soon as both of them fulfilled their wishes, ANBU would be their next target. Life is ever so busy.

"Iyaai! Let's start training now! Let's see…" Naruto rubbed his chin as he tried recalling all the he had learnt during all the years of training, "_Mmm… There was the Bushin test, then Kakashi sensei's bell test, then the tree climbing test… Sugoii!!"_

Naruto cleared his throat and grinned widely once Kakashi's eyes fell onto him. He rolled his eyes when the grin grew wider. He doesn't need this training at all in the first place. The copy-nin was certain that he would be able to do anything the blonde threw at him.

_Naruto sure is rather enthusiastic about this 'training' stuff… _

"We shall start with the Bushin no Jutsu. The seals are Tiger, Boar, Ox and Dog…" Before Naruto could finish his words, there was a puff of smokes and an exact replica of Kakashi appeared beside him. Kakashi was chuckling when Naruto's jaws opened a tad too big.

"Errr… seemed like Iruka-sensei taught you that already… In that case, the next training will be a bell test!" he proudly announced to the boy who was sighing for Naruto's lack of originality (Although Kakashi also copied it from somewhere).

"You will have to get the bells from me if not you will be tied to the poles." Naruto pointed to the three blocks of logs standing by themselves.

"Where's the bell?"

Naruto froze. His hands slowly dug into his pockets, taking out a fistful of air. Kakashi closed his eyes and shook his head. Sometimes this guy can really be full of surprises…

"Ahahaha…" Naruto let out a nervous laugh and scratched his head, "It seemed like I've forgot to bring it along…"

Luckily for Kakashi, before Naruto could continue with his so called 'training', Iruka came walking up to them from behind the trees. He was holding a paper and looking towards the younger boy (in this case Kakashi).

"Arashi! I've got good news for you!" The Chunin exclaimed as he stood in front of the copy-nin, "After seeing your skills, I've decided to let you take the genin exams early and surprisingly, Tsunade-sama agreed without hesitation."

_That's no surprise._

"Therefore, I'll need you to take a trial test now to decide on whether you're ready for the real test. It's part of the rule." He put down the paper after finishing his last sentence before gesturing for Kakashi to follow him.

"Iruka-sensei! Can I follow too? Onegai!!" Naruto pleaded. The teacher's face immediately softened and he nodded his head. Naruto gave a shout of joy and cheered which Iruka laughed heartily at his reaction.

"As long you don't disrupt the test, I'm sure you can hang around."

"Yosh!"

0o0

"The subject for the test shall be the transformation jutsu." The examiner said lazily as he gazed at Kakashi. Iruka and Naruto stood aside as both of them watched Kakashi nervously. Iruka was biting his thumb and Naruto was watching with mild interest, his blue eyes never taking off him.

Kakashi sighed for the hundredth time. His raised his hands and did a dog-boar-tiger seal which flawlessly transformed into the examiner's copy in a 'poof' of smoke. For a Genin level, it wasn't that easy to perform a seal perfectly and that was partially the reason why the examiner's mouth was slightly opened and Iruka's eyes were shining with pride. Furthermore, with the speed that he had formed the seal, it was quite commendable for a Genin.

"You passed the trial test." The examiner tried not to look shock. He rolled up the scroll that contained Kakashi's performance and passed it to Iruka. The three of them proceed on to the Hokage's office.

"Come in." A feminine voice emitted when Iruka knocked on the door. The Godaime's head rose slightly to meet her visitors which soon went back down to the scrolls on the table.

"Hokage-sama, this is the results of the trial test for Arashi." Iruka stepped in front of the desk and passed the scroll to Tsunade, who accepted and unrolled it. She skimmed through the comments and nodded her head.

"It seemed that the examiner was quite satisfied with the results." Tsunade said as a smile emerged, "Maybe we can promote him straightaway rather than waiting for the exams in summer."

"Hontou ni?" The Chunin's asked as his face lit up in excitement.

"Hai…The faster he graduates, the faster he could help Konoha clear up some of the debts through C or D-ranked missions." Tsunade could feel Kakashi's glare on her, "Of course,** if** Arashi himself doesn't wants the immediate promotion, he can always wait till summer or maybe the late autumn's exams."

That sentence made Kakashi retreat his glare. His fate of whether he's going to remain in the academy or not was currently lying in her hands. He can't afford to take any risk.

_Damn, Tsunade's getting better at blackmailing people._

"So what do you think, Arashi?" The woman glanced at him, a glint of evil flashed across her eyes, "Maybe you'll need more time for training?"

"No thanks, I'll go for the immediate promotion."

"Demo Tsunade-sama, don't you think it's a bit too early to promote him? He's only been in the academy for a few days only and-…" Iruka spoke out but was cut off by his listener.

"I'm sure Arashi's capable of handling himself. He's a prodigy after all." Tsunade regretted her words when she felt Kakashi's ego swelling. Men and their ego…

"D-demo…"

"No more words from you, Iruka, I know Arashi more than you do and I know what's best for him. You should feel happy that your student is going to be a Genin."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Daijobu, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto patted the Chunin's back, "He even managed to do a Bushin too!"

"I'll take my departure then, Hokage-sama. I'm afraid I'll go broke if I stayed any longer." Iruka nodded his head and disappeared in a flash, leaving Naruto and Kakashi in the room while Tsunade pondered over what he had just said.

"Matte-! How did he know I was going to ask him for a ramen treat?!" The answer dawned onto her. The last thing she saw was the blonde running out of the office, shouting for Iruka. Tsunade shook her head meanwhile calling for her trustworthy helper, Shizune.

"Call for Yoake and tell her to report immediately."

"Hai." She was gone in a blink of an eye too. It wasn't long when she returned, this time with a newcomer. She was a head taller than Kakashi's current height; her mahogany hair ran down to her waist with slight curls. Her eyes closely resembled Kurenai's, except hers were navy blue. Judging from the way she looked, Kakashi presumed that she was around her mid-thirties.

"From now onwards, she will be your new Genin teacher, Miozashi Yoake." The godaime looked at Kakashi then back to the woman, "He'll be your student, Arashi."

"Dozo yoroshiku, Yoake-sensei." Kakashi greeted. The words sound so foreign on his tongue. Is that how Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura felt when they first met him?

"Dozo yoroshiku, Arashi-kun. It's nice to be working with you." she greeted back.

"Yoake, teach him all the basics and all that he needs to know." Tsunade commanded. A sharp nod was her reply, "You're dismissed."

The both of them walked out of the office. When the door slammed shut firmly, Shizune couldn't help but asked.

"Are you sure about this, Tsunade-sama? He's a guy, isn't it more useful if…"

"I know what I'm doing, Shizune." Tsunade stressed. _Kakashi is still Kakashi. No point teaching him things that he already knew._

On the other hand, she was showering herself with praises from the ingenious plan that was being carried out for Kakashi. Just wait till Kakashi see what's in stock for him… Tsunade couldn't wait to see his expressions.

0o0

**Reviews please! xD I will try to update as soon as possible so please be patient all of you:D**

**Thanks to the following non-author/author for reviewing my story:**

**Rika24**

**SongoftheDarquePhoenix**

**Nire Sanam**

**Wild Dog- untamed cainine**

**Prescripto13**

**Sheri-chan**

**Kakashifan**

**Catgirl9696**

**Thinkerandwriter**

**Sankyuus! **


	8. Chapter 8

Kakashi swore revenge on Tsunade

**Hi people! Just to let you all know, I am not dead yet and neither am I giving up on writing this story! Just some time constraints especially with school and exams. I sincerely thank you people for the patient wait and would like to apologize for the delay! Sorry, this chapter may be a bit short… **

**Disclaimer: I do not owe Naruto or any of its character. **

0o0

(Chapter 8)

Kakashi swore revenge on Tsunade. He knew something was wrong when he saw the evil grin on her face back then. Just when he thought he could finally get out from the humiliation for being an academy student, another problem came. There he was, with his new teacher, Yoake-sensei, and his new teammate, Hyuuga Hanabi. Not much about both of them though, rather it was the supposedly new shinobi's skills that he was required to learn.

"Arashi, are you listening to me?" Yoake-sensei asked as 'Arashi' jerked his head towards her direction. Hanabi let out a small giggle. He was caught daydreaming for the fifth time during lesson that day.

"It's very impolite of you when someone here is speaking while your mind wanders somewhere else, Arashi. You're going to miss out on a lot of important points and note plus…" There was the lecture again.

Kakashi let out a sigh of relief when the naggings were finally over, it's not that he didn't want to listen to her anyway, it's was the boredom of the topic that was killing him. And that's when Kakashi started his evils thoughts, namely 'Operation Godaime's Revenge', and that's when the 'daydreaming' incidents started occurring. His attention was diverted once more when the voice of his teacher sounded out.

"I still don't understand why Tsunade put you in this department… I mean, it's not like you're _THAT _weak unless maybe I'm wrong… but you certainly doesn't look like you belong to the weak kind."

"_I have totally no idea too…"_

"Anyway, let's continue on the lesson…" Yoake-sensei returned to her blackboard as Hanabi furiously took down what she was writing on her scrolls.

0o0

(At Tsunade's office)

Tsunade raised the sake cup towards her lips as she took a sip of the wondrous drink that she had been craving for a long time. Shizune had taken most of her bottles of sake but fortunately, Tsunade had foreseen this situation and smuggled in a batch of them unknown to her assistant. Her peace was soon disrupted when loud footsteps could be heard stomping its way along the corridor.

"TSUNADE-SAMA!"

"Yes, Arashi?" Tsunade smiled lazily as she took her sake bottle by the mouth and started swirling it. She knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

"Why?!"

"Why what?"

"You went and placed me under medic's training of all things?!"

"And your point being?"

"Stop acting, you know very well that I have absolute no talent at medic's stuffs!" Kakashi shouted out. It was true. Despite being a genius as he was, everyone is guaranteed to have their own weak points and it seemed that Kakashi's was concerning the medical department. "The last time I tried my medic skills resulted in the whole hospital running wild just because of that one patient I've treated!"

"That's why I'm putting you under the medic department, Arashi." The hokage put down the bottle of sake and looked at Kakashi. "If I put you in other department, you'll most likely to excel and get promoted too easily. That's when people may get suspicious and who knows, maybe some individuals may recognize your fighting style and you know what that means…"

Kakashi stopped and thought about her words. It did make sense after all, especially for people like Gai and Genma who would instantly knew his identity just by his style of fighting alone. They are not call friends for nothing mind you. Seeing that there was no other choice, Kakashi silently resigned to fate.

"I trust that you can do it, Arashi, you are genius and trivial matters like this shouldn't be an obstacle to you." The blonde tipped the sake bottle and poured more of its contents into her cup till it reached the last drop.

"I hope things will turn out good…" Kakashi ran his hand in his hair, "Anyway, Sakura-chan wants a new file plus documents for my physical checkups."

"Let me see… I remember those things are kept somewhere in _that_ room…" Tsunade stood up and walked out of the office, "Wait here while I go get the required materials." Kakashi obliged without any protest.

(After ten minutes)

"Here." Tsunade came back with a thin file and passed it to Kakashi, "You may want to start your physicals today… it's going to save more trouble of hunting you down in the future."

"Hai." Kakashi nodded his head and scurried off to the door.

"One more thing, Arashi, if any of the medics demand to check the sharingan, just tell them that it is under the Hokage's command that they are not allowed to check on that eye." The door slammed shut just nice at the moment she finished her last word. She shook her head before opening her side drawer and retrieving another sake bottle.

"Geez… Is he really that anxious to have his physical? I thought he hated it all along…" Tsunade mumbled as she drank the previous cup of sake before refilling it with the new one.

The reason dawned on her when she drank the current sake in her cup.

"WATER?! WHY THAT LITTLE BRAT…!" Tsunade took out the bottles that she had been keeping all these while and took a sip out of each one of them. To her horror, the once sake had now been replaced by plain water. There was a shout followed by some swearing that was heard throughout the whole of Konoha that day. Of course Kakashi didn't miss that as he let out a chuckle to himself. 'Operation Godaime's Revenge' was claimed as a success.

Kakashi hummed a tune as he walked towards Team seven training grounds… the place where he could rest without anyone interrupting his train of thoughts. Of course, he was going to ditch the physical without a shadow of doubt. But well, things sometimes do not go as one wish. Before he could even reach a kilometer away from his destination, he was stopped by his ex-student aka Sakura.

"The Hokage demanded to have you take your physical now, Arashi-kun." Sakura said, "And she permits me to use force if you're not willing to follow orders."

Kakashi gulped. Her strength was not something to mess around with… considering how many broken bones Naruto had the last time he tried peeking at the hot springs. But there's no way he's going for the physical either. He was trapped either way.

"Ahaha… I'm afraid I can't make it for the physical… how about arranging some other days?" Unfortunately for him, Sakura's eyes did not waver. Not even a single bit.

_Time for Plan B._

Kakashi did a few hand signs and in a flash, he disappeared in a puff of smokes. He had to resort to jutsus for now even though he knew he may risk the revelation of his identity.

"Run for all you like, Arashi… I'll be able to find you no matter where you are…" Sakura let out a grin and disappeared too.

0o0

"_Am I safe now?_" Kakashi thought to himself as he peeked out of the tree he's currently hiding in. He had been sitting there for the past few minutes and nothing had happened to him… yet. He sighed in relief and leant back against the tree trunk. He's a jounin after all; it's going to take a whole day for someone like Sakura to catch him.

"Found. You." a voice came from behind him, giving him a startle. He turned around to see none other than Sakura. Without warning, a fist flew towards him in which he dodged it in time and the punch landed on the tree behind him instead. He leaped into the air and did another teleportation jutsu. Before he could finish his hand signs, Sakura reappeared in front of him and grabbed his arms, flinging him towards the ground. Kakashi did a back flip, landing gracefully on the ground. He didn't imagine Sakura would come rocketing down and crashed into him.

"There's nowhere for you to run, Arashi-kun." Sakura pinned him down. Her hands were restraining his arms from moving at both sides of his head as her knees dug into his thighs. Kakashi could only lie still, grimacing in pain.

"_When did she even become that strong?"_

"Pain, isn't it?" Sakura whispered into his ears, her breath sending chills down his spine. She dug her knees deeper, eliciting a groan from the victim.

"Did I mention how good-looking you are?" her hands went up to his cheeks as she began to stroke it gently. Poor Kakashi could feel his face heating up as he tried desperately not to make the blush obvious. Of course, it failed since her face was inching closer to his.

"Who are you?! And what are you doing to Arashi-kun?!" A second voice popped out. The copy-nin could feel her pulling away as he craned his neck to see whoever his savior was. Much to his shock and surprise, the person who saved him was… another Sakura?!

Kakashi stared blankly at the two identical kunoichi ahead of him.

"T-Two Sakuras?" He managed to stutter out after much attempt.

The first Sakura started laughing as the other two just looked at her quizzically. She did a hand sign and smokes enveloped her within a second. The Sakura who attacked Kakashi so mercilessly finally revealed her true identity… standing right there, was Tsunade.

"Tsunade-shinshou! What are you doing her?! Shouldn't you be in your office doing your paperwork?" Sakura gasped as the copy-nin could only looked with wide opened eyes.

"An eye for an eye, I'm going back now." Tsunade smirked at Kakashi who now finally get what was happening at the current moment, "Don't forget to give him his physical, Sakura-chan."

Kakashi caught the hateful word as he once more tried to escape from the scene. His hand froze on the following words that were said to Sakura.

"I'm allowing you to use force against _Arashi-kun _if he is unwilling to cooperate… but I'm sure Arashi wouldn't escape from physicals, would you?" she cast a triumph glance towards Kakashi who was now pouting slightly.

"I won't." He said between clenched teeth. Tsunade let out a final laugh as she 'poofed' away in a cloud of smokes. From this, Kakashi learnt to never play pranks with Tsunade…

0o0

"Mmm… Pulse… normal. Blood pressure… normal. No abnormalities other than some old scars and unhealed wounds… now left with the eyes." Sakura mumbled to herself while taking down notes on a paper.

"Lay down on the bed, I'll be checking on your eyes." She ordered. Kakashi did as told and laid on the bed patiently. He hated every moment of this… why can't everyone see that he's perfectly fine? He's not some young kid that bruised himself everyday. Whatever it was, he just didn't like it any one bit.

"You'll have to take off your eye patch for this, Arashi-kun."

"Tsunade-sama allowed me to deny access to my covered eye if I don't want to." He simply announced it out loud. For a moment, he swore a flash of disappointment washed over Sakura's face but was taken over by a smile in an instant. It seemed that her curiosity over his eye was still prodding her ever since the incident that day.

"If that's the case, I'll be checking your uncovered eye now." It was shortly followed by her placing her hand over his eye as chakra flowed out in thin threads.

Sakura allowed her chakra to flow through Kakashi's eyes as she tried to concentrate on every minute detail that she could picked up. Her free hand never seemed to be at rest as it continued to scribble down words on the piece of paper. Meanwhile, Kakashi tried his best to stay obedient and not ripped the hand out from whoever is sending the foreign chakra into his systems.

"_Retina's okay… Iris's okay…" _The medic's eyebrows furrowed when she sensed something more. It was familiar but she could not pinpoint out what it was. _"The weird chakra signals… it's as if I'm treating Sasuke…only that Arashi's one isn't that strong…"_

Dying to unveil the truth, Sakura sent her chakra towards the source but was violently repelled by an unknown force. The impact was so great that it caused her to recoil in pain as she grabbed her wrist, still trying to comprehend what had just transpired. Kakashi did not miss that as he sat up and look over to her with concern-filled eye.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan?"

"I-I think s-so… a little tired I guess." She finally let go of her wrist when it was not hurting anymore, "That's all for now."

Kakashi was euphoric when he heard the last few words. Without even bidding goodbye, he dashed out of the room and of course, the hospital. His hatred towards the building was way beyond describable.

Back in the room, Sakura slumped down on her chair as she ran her fingers through pink locks. Although the pain was gone, her hands were still feeling tingly from the aftereffects. She heaved a sigh of despair, racking her brain for the logical explanation of the event.

"_It's definitely not from Arashi himself since he had no idea on what had happened and definitely not my imagination. If that's the case then what is it?! It felt like his body had it's own mind or something… And those weird chakra signals…"_

"S-Sakura-chan?" A timid voice came from behind her. Sakura swirled herself to see Hinata coming into the room, "A-aren't you going home?"

"Just some things to ponder about… you can go back first if you wan- …" Before she could finish her words, an idea struck her as she immediately turned her focus towards Hinata. Sakura's eyes were gleaming with excitement as a plot hatched in her mind.

"Hinata-chan, can you do me a favor?!"

"S-sure…"

That was all she needed before she pulled the Hyuuga closer and whispered her plans to her. Hinata occasionally nodded her head as she hears what Sakura had to say. It took quite a while, but nevertheless, the discussion ended and they walked in different directions towards their house. Both could hardly wait for tomorrow to come…

"_This is definitely going to solve all the hidden mysteries under Arashi-kun!"_

TBC

0o0

**Thanks for reading and do leave a review! Feel free to suggest any ideas, ask any questions or comment on anything… but please be lenient if you are going to flame. Thank you!! xD**


	9. Chapter 9

**Finally! My exams are over! And now I've finally completed chapter nine. Took me quite a time since I was thinking of whether to stall time or just go into the main part. Of course I chose the latter… Hope you people will like it! **

-

(Chapter9)

Bright, blazing sun, white puffy clouds and occasion gentle wind. Definitely a good weather to stalk someone compared to getting soaked to the bone during a heavy downpour. As usual, Kakashi could be seen strolling along the road of Konohagakure, his mouth humming a tune that only god knows what song it was. Behind him were two girls, or rather, two stalkers that had been following him for quite some while. For what reasons, Kakashi did not know, but his keen sense had already picked up their presence from the time they started spying on him. And of course, he smelled something fishy.

"_Well, if they really want to play hide and seek with me, I'll be glad to join them."_

There was some nudging between the two stalkers when he stopped suddenly and without a warning, he disappeared in a 'poof' of white smokes while the both of them were busy with each other.

Meanwhile, Sakura was still whispering words at Hinata to activate her Byakugan. But unfortunately for the both of them, it seems that their prey had gotten away for the third time since they first spied on him.

"We'll never get to see what's underneath him at this rate we are going." Sakura sighed in exasperation. Hinata nodded in agreement. Their 'mission' had been unsuccessful so far and the reason for their failure was always the same- either they were too slow or Arashi was too fast. Both got out from their hiding places and sat down to reflect on what had happened minutes ago. Hinata gazed at the place where Arashi once stood before perking up as a thought floated into her mind.

"D-do you think that A-Arashi-san knows that we are following him?" Hinata suggested. Sakura bit her nails while racking her brains on the possibilities even though she assumed that the chances were low.

"I don't think so… he's only a genin and I don't think his senses are that sharp yet. At least not now…"

"B-but how come h-he managed to get away every time b-before I activate my Byakugan?"

There was a pregnant pause as wrinkles could be seen on Sakura's forehead.

"It must be a coincidence. Let's give it another attempt." She finally stated her decision and both of them disappears in a whirlwind of dried leaves.

-

It wasn't long when they found him and were back on trail again. But this time was different. It ended faster than they had imagined it would be. It was only for a few seconds since they had spotted him and a split second before it was replaced with empty air. He was nowhere to be seen again… not even his shadow. A vein could be seen popping out from Sakura's head. Well, it seems that not only Hinata was getting tired of this repeated incident.

"I don't believe it! For four times we followed him and he's gone before we could even lay a finger on him!" the medic-nin shouted out in frustration.

"C-calm down, Sakura-chan… I-It's not your fault." Hinata reached out for Sakura's arms which were now raised above her head and fist clenched, looking like she was about to hit anybody that crosses the path next.

"Hinata-sama's right, Sakura-san. It's not your fault. After all, he's not called the copy-nin for nothing." A low voice came from behind them, giving them quite a surprise. The two swirled around to see none other than Hyuuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke.

Both of them were dressed in their jounin uniform, with their hands crossed in front of their chests. It was months after getting their Chunin rank, Neji and Sasuke went and took the Jounin's test and no surprise, they passed and were now preparing to take on ANBU. Their bloodline limit wasn't respected for nothing. With the Sharingan and Byakugan working together, they were considered one of the best two-man's team available in Konoha.

"Sasuke-kun! Neji-kun!" Sakura exclaimed in astonishment. Hinata's mouth was slightly opened as shocked could be seen in her white eyes.

"W-what do you mean by A-Arashi-san is the copy-nin, Neji-san?"

"Hn, that means, he's none other than Kakashi-sensei, or should I say, Hatake Kakashi." Sasuke explained with the usual arrogance held in his tone, "And to think that you didn't know he was your sensei, Sakura-chan."

akue was gested, " A-Arashi-san knows that we are following him?"

"No! It's not true! I did suspect he was Kakashi-sensei, but he firmly stated that he was Arashi, and not Kakashi-sensei! How could you two just jumped to conclusion like that?!" There was a sudden outburst from the pink-haired girl but nevertheless, Neji and Sasuke seemed unaffected by it.

"Grow up, Sakura-chan. You can't always go around believing people just because they say so." There was the humiliations again, thrown straight at her, "We've confirmed it with Neji's Byakugan and I'm sure that's enough proof for his identity."

"And the thing now is that we don't know of his motives, may it be that he's spying us or even working with Akatsuki, nobody knows." The other Hyuuga added on.

"D-demo, Neji-san, you seemed really f-friendly with Arashi-kun a few days ago… Y-you should know he's not that bad…" Hinata stopped herself when she saw Neji's eyes hardened.

"That time at the memorial, it was a misjudgment. It was my bad to trust him so easily and I, as a Jounin, should have been more aware of that fact. Furthermore, when I learnt that Arashi is Kakashi, and with a probability of working with the Akatsuki, it just proves how we should not trust strangers."

"No! I refuse to believe you two! Even if he's really Kakashi-sensei, I don't think it's appropriate for you both to suspect him especially as a member of Akatsuki! He's a ninja from Konoha! You know that he won't betray us… You know it too, Sasuke! He's our sensei and I'm sure that you know he won't do that after all these years!" Sakura looked as if she's about to burst in anger and the unfazed look on Sasuke was only acting as a catalyst to it.

"Look here, a supposedly dead ninja appeared out of the blue, grown a lot younger, not revealing his identity to the village and bringing an Akatsuki's cloak with him. What makes you think we can trust him?" Neji said as he witnessed the furious and shocked faces of Sakura and Hinata respectively were replaced by one filled with horror.

"A-Akatsuki's cloak you say?"

"Indeed. We managed to search his items apparently while he was away and guess what we've found?" Sasuke smirked. "That's already enough evidence, Sakura. And you should be the one who's most clear on what will happen if this information gets to the Hokage."

"You can't do that to Ara- I mean Kakashi-sensei!"

"Hn. Too bad we already did."

"Y-you mean you already told Shinshou?" Sakura voice was now soft, a huge contrast to what it was minutes ago. Just like a lion that was baring its malicious fangs and assume a stance that screams of a possible sudden pounce had transformed into a docile and timid rabbit.

"Hai. We reported everything to her. I believe Tsunade-sama will make her decision soon." Neji answered her question. "Although it was kind of disappointing… to think one of Konoha's greatest shinobi would do something as despicable as joining the Akatsuki."

"It's not true I tell you! Kakashi-sensei wouldn't…"

"And do you have proof for that?" The Uchiha interrupted in, his expression still as smug as ever.

Silence.

"The possession of the Akatsuki's cloak speaks everything. As much as this is top secret information, we also found documents on him… documents that contain the information of Konoha's shinobi, ranking from Chuunin to ANBU and the most convincing evidence, plans for attack. "

"I-I don't believe this… Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura's lips were trembling now, her eyes filled with disbelief. Was she wrong in believing Kakashi all along? Was she wrong in supporting him?

"Although the plans did not state which particular target they're aiming at, we believe it has something to do with Konoha. You may choose to believe it or not, Sakura-chan… everything we had just said is nothing but facts." Neji added in before looking over to Hinata. "And that goes for you too, Hinata-sama."

The two were just getting ready to teleport when Sakura stood up abruptly.

"You know what? I still believe in Kakashi-sensei. No matter what you've said, Kakashi has been a shinobi of Konoha for many years. Whatever he's doing right now, nobody knows. But I'm sure he has a valid reason for his actions. After all, he has his way of a ninja. And I believe Naruto will choose to continue believing in him too."

There were no more words after the speech Sakura gave. At least not until a few seconds after, when Sasuke's brow twitched in annoyance.

"Tch. Do what deems right for you. I'm not wasting my time on an idiot like you or Naruto." And the two disappeared from sight.

"S-sakura-chan…" Hinata whispered.

"Is anything wrong?"

"I-I feel that you are right in b-believing in Kakashi-sensei. D-During that time at the memorial when I first met A-Arashi-kun, something about him made me feel like t-trusting him. It was the same way I-I feel around you guys. When Neji-kun told me k-Kakashi-sensei was in the Akatsuki, s-somehow deep inside, I still trust him. Just know that, I-I'll support you all the way, S-sakura-chan!" It took lots of courage for the usual shy Hinata to say something like that. By the end of her speech, her cheeks were tinted red as she fiddled with her fingers.

A smile graced upon the pink-haired girl lips, "Thanks, Hinata-chan. For now, I guess I'll be listening out to whatever that may happen to Arashi-kun, or Kakashi-sensei."

"I-I guess so…"

-

(Hokage's office)

Tsunade was feeling really frustrated. As much as she liked to trust Kakashi, the news that the two boys brought her hours ago was disturbing her greatly. Kakashi in Akatsuki? It can't be true… As much as she would want to deny the fact, the evidence that the boys brought was enough to topple the confidence she had in Kakashi. And now they are waiting for her orders on what to do next. It was giving her a terrible headache. It killed her mood for a drink too.

Soft rapping on the door sounded as Tsunade broke her train of thoughts.

"Come in."

Sakura entered the room and stood in front of the Hokage's table.

"You look disturbed, Shishou."

"Of course I am feeling disturbed. Not to mention frustrated. It's a long story anyway." The Godaime gave a chuckle and pretended to look at the papers but in actual fact, the information was bugging her like hell.

Sakura gave a gulp, "Is this something to do with Arashi-kun?"

"You can put it that way."

"What are you going to do to Kakashi-sensei next?"

There was a pause in Tsunade's actions.

"I already know the truth, Shishou. And I believe Kakashi has his own reasons!"

"Silence! It's is not in your position to say that and neither it is for me. Those two bastards… of all times they just had to mention it in the presence of the elders. Of course the elders were shock and now it's up to them to decide Kakashi's fate. Not even my intervention could do anything to help the situation. Furthermore, with those evidences the boys possessed… I'm afraid it's not going to be an easy escape for Hatake. Trust him to be careless… that idiot."

"Demo Shishou, you still trust him right? You still believed in him, don't you?" the girl looked at her with eyes that glimmered with hope.

"Unless someone brainwashed him, I doubt he'll betray Konoha. At least that's what I hope is true."

That earned a grin from her apprentice. There was a solid knock on the door, before the door opened. It was the Elders.

"I'm afraid this girl has to go for the matter we're handling is of great delicate." The old man spoke as he came forward and stood beside Sakura.

"As the Hokage, I allow her stay. She already knew of this matter and it won't bring any harm to let her know what would happen to her friend." Tsunade ordered leaving the two aged couples with no choice.

"As you wish, Hokage-sama. After much discussion, we felt that the most appropriate way of handling this issue concerning Hatake Kakashi and the Akatsuki would be…"

"…executing him." His partner finished up.

"NANI?!" Tsunade roared out, the veins in her forehead were visible now. Her eyes were filled with untold anger that anyone who meets eye to eye with her would be reduced to a pile of goo. "How could you go to such extend as to execute him?! He's still one of Konoha's valued Shinobi!"

"That was in the past, Hokage-sama. Now that he came back to Konoha, joined up with Akatsuki, and in addition, plans of what we deduced to be the attack of Konoha and the possession of Konoha's top secrecy files, I'm afraid we had to put in such measures. It's the best we can do for Konoha. After all, it's the life of a shinobi. As long as anyone is plotting against Konoha, despite their status, we'll still have to eliminate him."

"DEMO…"

"I hope you could cooperate with us, Hokage-sama. Please excuse us." The two went out just as hastily as they had come in. Tsunade slammed her fist on the table.

"What evidence do they have that proofs Kakashi is plotting against Konoha?! Nothing than some mere pieces of paper! Damn all of these!" She shouted out. Desperation and anger writhed within her, burning her like no other flame would.

Sakura could only stand as the new information processed through her mind.

"Execute… Does that mean Kakashi will die? No… He can't die. He can't!" Tears were threatening to flow down her eyes. Tsunade noticed her fear and traumatized state. She took a few deep breaths before sinking into deep thoughts.

"Sakura. You'll be going for a mission."

"How could I go on a mission when Kaka…"

"Let me finish first!! As I said, you'll be going on a mission. Take Kakashi out of Konoha. Take him somewhere. Time length of the mission is unknown. Am I understood?!"

"Hai! Hokage-sama!" Sakura shouted back at her as new hope gushed into her. Amidst the utter bleakness of the situation, a very small, but existant ray of hope shone through, rekindling the possibility of salvaging the situation.

"You'll be setting of immediately. Go get ready and inform Kakashi of everything!" Tsunade gave the last instructions before softening her gaze at Sakura, "And be safe, you two."

"I will, Shishou. You too." With that, Sakura did a few hand seals and was gone in a poof of white smokes.

"_I pray for your safety, Kakashi, Sakura."_

_TBC_

-

**A/N: Sorry for the sudden development in the story… guessed it was a bit sudden : ( Please read and review! Reviews are important to me and I believe it's important to all authors out there too! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 is out! This year will be kinda busy since I've just gotten into college so the update time would be longer… please bear with me! :X And do continue reviewing :D **

-

(Chapter 10)

_Knockknockknock. _

Impatient knockings were heard on Naruto's door. The fast and irregular pace of the knockings sent both Naruto and Kakashi looking up in surprise, wondering who it could be at such an hour and furthermore, in such a hurry. The answer was shortly revealed when Naruto opened the door, as a breathless Sakura barged violently into the room.

She was dressed in her chunnin attire, her headband tied firmly around her upper arms and a bag behind her. It looked as if she was going on an A-ranked mission which actually quite matched the situation she was in. Beads of perspiration dripped down her forehead, as she wiped them off with a swipe of her sleeves.

"A-Arashi-kun… _Gasp… _we're going away for a mission." She breathed out while at the same time, taking in large amount of oxygen. "NOW. No time to waste."

"C-calm down, Sakura-chan… what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Naruto asked as he made gestures for the girl to simmer down. Sakura took a few deep breaths before regaining her composure. She gazed past Naruto into Kakashi's single eye which was filled with utter confusion. His brows were knitted with apprehension and his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish out of water.

"Tsunade wants me and Arashi-kun to go for a mission right now. Pack your stuff and we need to go now, Arashi-kun! It's urgent!" She half-shouted out in desperation. Her eyes were glassy, on the verge of tears as she looked pleadingly at Kakashi who was still taken aback from what had conspired in that room.

It was a few seconds after when everything became clear for Kakashi as he rushed into a room which Sakura assumed belonged to him. He soon emerged with a backpack and his newly gotten hitai-e tied around his neck. Everything was present.

"I'm ready for the mission, Sakura-san." Kakashi announced to the girl as a flash of relief skimmed across her face.

"W-Wait, what's going on now?!" Naruto cried out. His hands were waving madly in front of Sakura, attempting to catch her attention. He was still confused. _What mission? Why Arashi of all people?_

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. It's a long story. I promised I'll tell you when I come back." She smiled softly at the blonde. After all, who knows when they will be back? The least she could do was to take one last look at her friend. She allowed her gaze to linger a bit longer on Naruto before turning back to Kakashi. "Let's go, Arashi-kun."

"Hai. I'm borrowing your packbag, Naruto. I'll return it to you when I come back." Kakashi ran past the boy, catching up with Sakura, who was a few feet ahead of him. His stomach was churning. Somehow this mission did not bode well for him. He gulped before enhancing his steps with chakra, landing just beside the girl who was the root of his worries.

They travelled in silence for some distance as the sceneries beside them changed from buildings to trees. Every minute, Kakashi would take a peek at Sakura from the corner of his eye. There was too much information still unknown to him and it was his job to get it out from the pink-haired girl. The girl herself wasn't handling the situation quite well either, she was on a dangerous mission and furthermore, in such a short notice! Where are they going to go?! She hadn't even made plans for this mission yet!

"Where are we going, Sakura-chan?"

A muffled sob came from the girl.

"Sakura-chan?" Was that a sob he heard from her? Is she crying? His question was answered when he saw the tears flowing down her cheeks. What was happening?

"How long are you going to hide from us, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Ahaha… Didn't I tell you I'm not Kakashi… I'm Ara…"

"It's pointless, Kakashi-sensei. I already know about everything."

A sigh was let out.

"So my cover is blown away huh? Are you the only one who knows about this?"

"Hinata-chan, Neji-kun, Tsunade-sama, the Elders," Sakura listed out the names. "And Sasuke-kun."

"Heh. So I presume they are after my life now after seeing what I had in possession?" Kakashi let out a chuckle when Sakura stared at him in bewilderment. "I noticed my stuffs were ransacked a few days ago. It's just a matter of time before they figure out who I am. But I didn't expect it to be this fast."

It was Sakura turn to sigh as she turned her head back to the front. They were nearing the border now. Just a few more kilometers and they would be out of Konoha, to some other places. Sakura prayed silently, hoping they would make it out safely without any interference. Unfortunately, her prayers were not heard.

"Watch out, Sakura!" A cry from Kakashi sounded out as he pushed her back, resulting in both of them crashing into the ground. A kunai whizzed past the space which they were at before and planted itself into the bark of a nearby tree. The copy-nin glanced around, spotting for the intruder before landing his sight on a few looming shadows near the bushes. "It's better if you come out from your hiding places, you know."

"Not bad, Hatake Kakashi." The shadows moved as the leaves from the bushes rustled in the cool night, giving it a sinister atmosphere. "Not bad at all."

"Sasuke-kun! Neji-kun!" Sakura shouted out. She was positioned below Kakashi with his hands on her back, cushioning her spine during the fall, "what do you want now?!"

"Our objective was simple: To kill Kakashi before he could get out of Konoha. That was from the Elders. But since you became an accomplice in aiding the criminal's escape, I'm afraid you'll have to go too, Haruno Sakura." Sasuke stated coolly. His onyx eyes bore straight into Sakura's wavering ones. A shiver ran down her spines as the words came out of his mouth and it did not go unnoticed by Kakashi. A gush of adrenalin ran through the copy-nin body as he could feel the mixed emotions rampaging in him.

"Let her go, this has nothing to do with her!" Kakashi retorted. He was furious… angry at the two who just willingly let words on killing their friend slipped out their mouth so easily. At the same time, he was guilty, for dragging Sakura along into this mess.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-san. It's the rules." Neji intervened the conversation between Sasuke and Kakashi.

"Those who follow rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash. Is that what you want to say, Kakashi? Unfortunately we already knew that and don't require another repetition from you. Let's get things done." Sasuke smirked and disappeared only to reappear behind Kakashi, with a kunai pressed against his throat. "Give up, Hatake."

"Hn, sometimes you really talk too much." The Kakashi that was in front of the Uchiha turned into white smokes with a 'poof'.

"A bushin huh?" Neji let out a chuckle. "BYAAKUGAN!"

Veins appeared beside his eyes as he scanned his environment. It wasn't long when he found what he wanted and threw an exploding tag towards Sakura's direction. Hands wrapped around Sakura's waist as she was pulled away from the scene, just a few inches from getting hit by the tag.

"Keh. Don't forget there are two of us here!" Sasuke bellowed as he threw a mass of shurikens and kunais towards Kakashi. Unfortunately, with Sakura in his hands, there wasn't enough time to dodge and three-quarter of the weapons went digging into his back as he tried shielding the medic-nin in his hands. Blood dripped from his wounds and onto Sakura's face as her face flushed with horror.

"Kakashi-sensei you baka!" Sakura cried out before glaring at Neji and Sasuke. "That's enough you two!" She stood up and faced the two.

"Give all you have, Sakura," Sasuke gave her a smug look. "You're going to die anyway."

The girl bit her lips at the response as she tried to repress the anger swelling in him. She gave a worried glance at Kakashi before her gaze hardened and went back to her opponents. She knew she would not have a chance of winning, especially when your enemies have bloodline limits which you don't have. Nevertheless, it was a dead end and there are no way out without a fight.

"Let's get down to business." Sakura tugged at her gloves as a drop of sweat dripped down her forehead.

It wasn't long when the fight came to a nearing end, as a worn-out Sakura fell to the ground, exhausted. The other two did suffer from some minor injuries but not as much as compared to the two on the ground. She was right after all. There was no way she could win this alone. After all, they have the Sharingan and Byaakugan on their side.

"Time to end this." It came from Neji but the words sounded more like murmurings in Sakura's ears.

"No. It's not the end yet!" Sakura looked up at the source, only to see a staggering Kakashi standing in front of her, blood still flowing from his wounds. His right hand was holding on to his left, as chakra started gathering around his palm.

"RAIKIRI!"

"Tch. Stubborn fellow." Sasuke took out his sword from his back and pointed the tip at him. Without warning, he lurched forward, charging at the copy-nin. The ball of lightning missed Sasuke completely, and so did Sasuke's sword.

"Nani?" Kakashi asked. He felt around his neck and felt something missing. Yes, this confirmed that the hitai-e which was currently in Sasuke's hand belonged to him.

"I'll be taking this… and that too." Sasuke looked over to Neji, who was untying Sakura's hitai-e around her upper arm. Kakashi's bewilderment only grew when he saw what the Hyuuga was doing. Neji passed the blood-stained item to Sasuke who immediately took a quick glance and smirked.

"Is it enough?"

"Hai, seemed like there's enough blood to convince them." The Uchiha turned back to the confused copy-ninja, "and of course, we owe you some explanations…"

-

Kakashi helped shifted the unconscious Sakura into a more comfortable position as Sasuke and Neji built up a fire to protect them against the low temperature during night time. When everything was done, the three of them sat around the fire, with Kakashi facing both Sasuke and Neji.

"Hmm… where shall we start?" Sasuke was the first one to speak.

"The beginning." Kakashi deadpanned as the Uchiha let out a sigh.

"Fine, let's start from the time when you had yet to come back to Konoha." Fingers entwined each others in front of Sasuke as he bent down slightly, his gaze fixed on the fire before him. "I was on a mission few weeks before your appearance. It wasn't really a tough mission but on our way back, we got ambushed… by sound-nins. They were strong, I admit, and most of my teammates were killed in a span of ten minutes. In the end, it was only me who was left standing. I didn't want to exert myself nor do I have any business with them. But they were adamant. They got me surrounded. Suddenly, one came charging towards me shouting 'Hand him over, Konoha!' and I acted rashly by killing them off in a single blow. It was too late by then, to send them back for interrogation. So, I ransacked their belongings and found a wanted poster. Take a guess who's the wanted man."

A look of disbelief washed across Kakashi's face.

"Yes, it was you, Kakashi, with your name and village written in bold underneath your picture. The picture however showed a different Kakashi from the one who I've known for years. I dismissed the thought that you may be alive out there and that the picture was gotten during your younger days, but the answer was as clear as day when you decided to show up in the village. Obviously, someone out there is out to get you and whoever it is, he's strong. At least that's my assumption. Therefore, in order to prevent that whoever to track you down and start attacking Konoha, the best way was to kill you off. Or at least make it seems like you were killed. Neji agreed on helping me with this plan and since we're well-known for being 'merciless ninjas', the elders would most probably believe us if we claimed that we've killed you off and of course, with these hitai-e as proofs."

"So all those cold attitudes… all those fightings…" Kakashi stammered, still absorbing in the facts. Things certainly had turned around on him and Sakura.

"Those were to serve as distractions for the people to believe that we totally despise you and wouldn't show any mercy to you if it comes down to killing you." Neji explained as Kakashi finally understood everything there is for him to learn.

"Arigatou, Neji, Sasuke. It seemed like I'm indebt to you."

"Hn. If you want to repay the debt, just hurry up and get your things done. This is the furthest we can help you." Sasuke stood up, dusting his pants as Neji follow suite. "I believe you know what you are doing and thus, shall not press on your Akatsuki cloak and as much as I dislike saying this… Don't die."

Kakashi's single eye crinkled like it usually did before nodding his head.

"Well, we'll be leaving Sakura in your care and if anything happens to her, I'm sure you'll get it from a certain blonde." And liked he appeared, he was gone in a flash. Neji held up his hands as he performed a few hand seals.

"Take care, Kakashi-sensei." He went off too, leaving the copy-nin and the medic-nin behind. Kakashi took a deep breathe as he ran his fingers through his silver hair, still finding it hard to believe what had transpired then. At least he knew it would be safer to keep his profile low from now onwards…

-

(Back at the Hokage's tower)

Two figures appeared in the Hokage's office as Tsunade and the Elders turned to identify the newcomers.

"It seemed that you're back. How was it?" the old man asked. Confusion was plastered across Tsunade's face as she looked over Sasuke and Neji for an explanation.

"The mission went well. The bodies were burnt and made sure that no traces of evidence were left behind." Sasuke said in a monotonous voice as he brought forth the bloodied hitai-e to the Hokage. The blonde could only gape like a goldfish as she once again, received Kakashi's hitai-e, only with an addition of Sakura's this time.

"T-This belong to Kakashi and Sakura?" The Godaime asked in disbelief. She looked up and glared at the Uchiha for an answer.

"Yes."

"Why?"

It was ordered by the Elders: to eliminate off the two traitors."

This time the glare went over to the two elderly who were looking solemnly back at her.

"It was not a choice, Tsunade-sama. The laws made it clear that whoever betrays the Fire country will be killed. I'm afraid we have to go to such measures for the sake of Konohagakure." He turned back to Sasuke, "Good job, I was right to trust in both of you."

"How could you?! You just killed off one of Konoha's best ninja and best medic-nin! Sakura's my apprentice, how could you kill her?!" Tsunade snapped at the Elders who were standing up, getting ready to walk out of the office. "You are being unreasonable here, killing off someone who had not even laid a finger on the village! What did you know about Kakashi and Sakura?! Nothing!"

That stopped the two.

"As the Hokage, you should know that laws are laws. No personal feelings should be involved when it come to dealing with this kind of matters. They would only serve as an opportunity for the enemies to strike, or would you rather wait until they made their move first before you retaliate?"

With that, both of them disappeared behind the door with a slam. Tsunade bore holes at the door before bowing her head to look at the hitai-e in her hand. There was silence in the room for a moment as her downcast eyes remained transfixed on the two headbands left behind by her favorite apprentice and Kakashi. Tears were threatening to flow down her eyes as a lump of emotions formed within her throat. She wanted to cry but couldn't. She was the Hokage. She can't let her emotions gain the upper hand of her. The grip around the Hitai-e tightened as she lifted her head to the two waiting shinobi.

"You two are dismissed." She croaked out. One could tell easily she was breaking inside just by her voice and that did not escape the both of them.

"Before we leave, there's something else which we need to report, Hokage-sama." Neji walked in front of her table and Sasuke followed suit. The Hyuuga closed his eyes as he concentrated on the chakra signals around him. Only after making sure that no was around or near the office then did he reopened his eyes. "Kakashi and Sakura are not dead yet."

That got her attention alright. Her eyes widened in shocked as she looked at Neji then to Sasuke for confirmation.

"It's true. We did not kill them."

"B-But…"

A smirk was now visible on the raven-haired boy. "It's a long story."

"I have time."

So Sasuke retold the whole story to her, from what he witnessed during the earlier mission few months ago to the fight with Kakashi and Sakura. When he finished, Tsunade could only stare at him in disbelief.

"Is this all true?"

"Positive. You can send a search party to look for them but it is not advisable since it would be better for them to remain discrete."

"I see… you two are dismissed then. Just make sure that this information don't leak out to the village."

"We will, Hokage-sama." Sasuke replied, another smirk forming on his lips. "It was the Elders' mistake for placing too much trust in us and to think they gave you a lecture for that."

It was her turn to smirk now.

"Indeed."

TBC

-

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**Rai-hatake312**

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**Love you all and thanks for the encouragement you all had given me to continue this chapter :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Yea… another long break since I've updated. Not really surprise when the school has been dumping me with tests and new topics ever since I got into college. To those loyal readers of this story… kudos for your patience :D **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, the show would be called 'Kakashi' instead.**

**-**

(Chapter 11)

Gentle sunlight streamed through the canopy, signaling the arrival of morning. Birds were chirping as they fly from trees to trees. It had been a series of shocking events for the past few days especially the day before. If it wasn't thanks for Neji's and Sasuke's act, he would be dead by now. It was also in their calculations not to hurt the medic too seriously in order to ensure both of them would get sufficient medical treatment. And what the most surprising thing was that they even brought along civilian clothes for them to conceal their identities. All was well planned. At least Konoha would stop pursuing their tracks and they could proceed on safely to the Water country which was closest to Konoha.

"Are you done yet, Sakura?" Kakashi hollered.

"Almost." came his reply. The leaves on the bushes behind him rustled as he turned around, facing them. Sakura emerged from the bushes in ordinary civilian attire- A form-fitting light yellow blouse and a dark chocolate brown skirt to go with. It wasn't extravagant. Instead, it was plain, with only a line of buttons going down the centre of the yellow top. The skirt also didn't stand out much being a dark-colored piece of cloth.

"Well, it looks simple enough. I don't think this will raise much attention from the people." Kakashi commented as he glanced at her attire from head to toe. He himself was also in simple clothes- a plain grey T-shirt and navy blue sweatpants to match. This would make them more obscure to the crowd rather than in their shinobi's attire.

"We will be walking from now on since we're nearing the Water country's borders. Check your belongings and we'll be setting off." He ordered as Sakura carried out his instructions. Meanwhile, Kakashi bit his fingers as he did some hand seals before pressing his palms onto the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Weird characters start springing out from underneath his hand followed with a poof of white smoke.

"Yo, Kakashi." A dog could be seen as the smokes cleared. "What's up?"

"Yo, Pakkun." The copy-nin greeted the pug. "I'll need you to deliver a message to a certain person. Feeling up to it?"

"I can't say 'no', can I?"

"Nope."

"Fine… who's the lucky man?" The dog let out a sigh as he turned his head, only to see Sakura looking back at him with curiousity. "Isn't that your student, Sakura? What on earth is she doing here with you?"

"Long story… Here. Trace this guy and tell him we'll be waiting for him at Water country." Kakashi held out a cloth for the pug which took a whiff of it and nodded its head.

"Roger."

Kakashi watched as Pakkun leapt from branches to branches, widening the distance between them. It wasn't until he was out of sight then did Kakashi turned back to Sakura who was waiting patiently for him to finish whatever he's doing. He took up his bag and slung it over his back.

"Let's go."

"Hai."

It would be another few more hours before they reached their destination.

-

(Back in Konoha)

Many shinobis were gathered round the cenotaph where 'Arashi' and 'Haruno Sakura' were engraved into the piece of stone. Among the many shinobis present, there were familiar people such as Ino, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Hinata and many others. Tears were rolling down from Ino's eyes as she choked out Sakura's name repeatedly while Shikamaru tried his best to comfort the girl. The rest just remained quiet as they stared at the two names before them, especially Naruto, who haven't said anything since the funeral started.

"It's such a waste that the new guy died. I didn't even get to meet him." Kiba exclaimed as Akamaru yipped in agreement.

"It's a waste indeed. He wasn't such a bad person. At least he's not that troublesome compared to some people here." Shikamaru sighed as he patted Ino's back. Ino was too engrossed in the death of her friend to even retaliate the boy.

"N-Neji-san, y-you were involved in this, are they really… dead?" Hinata looked up at her cousin only to meet his impassive face. It was her turn to let out a sigh as she gazed over at Naruto. His down casted eyes showed no life at all, his yellow bangs covering his forehead as he stared at both names, especially Sakura's one. His first crush… gone just overnight, and so did his new friend. The more he thought, the more he felt that he had failed as a friend. The guilt was eating into him.

"_N-Naruto-kun…"_

Tsunade walked forth and stood in front of the crowd, her eyes looking solemnly at every one of them. She was wearing black, just like the others. Her eyes soon fell onto Naruto who did not even look up to meet hers. Worried was evident in her golden orbs as she turned back to the mass. The people immediately went silent as they listened attentively to whatever the Godaime had to say.

"It is regretful that Konoha lost two medical ninjas, Arashi and Haruno Sakura. They had served Konoha well with their services and displayed great skills as Shinobis. May their laughter and voice be part of our memories as we give respects to them for all that they had given to Konoha. Death is a part of a Shinobi's life; it's just a matter of time. Therefore, to all shinobis out there, fight and remain strong." She fixated her sight on Naruto, "Don't let the deaths of others get to you and affect your performance."

Nevertheless, the words were not getting into his head as his eyes remained on the names. It wasn't long after the speech when the funeral ended. Everyone had went home except for Naruto who was still standing in his spot, and Hinata who was standing behind him, looking worryingly at him.

"N-Naruto-kun…" She stuttered out. Finally, the blonde broke the eye contact with the cenotaph as he turned and meet Hinata's eyes.

"Hinata-chan, do you think that they are really dead?" His voice croaked out hoarsely. Hinata's heart tore as a lump of emotions found its way into her throat.

"I-I believe in them. A-Arashi-kun and Sakura-chan are really strong; they wouldn't be defeated that easily. I-If they're really d-dead, it just means t-that their opponents were stronger than them and they've died an honorable death for K-Konoha, protecting us and all other people in exchange for their lives." Hinata said as Naruto nodded his head, "D-Demo, I believe that they are still alive out there, fighting for themselves. After all, it was only their hitai-e that was brought back. It doesn't proof that they are dead yet. T-That is why, we must get stronger and till then, we'll be a-able to fight alongside with them. Fate will allow us to meet again if we try hard enough."

"Of course! I was a fool to believe that they were dead. As a friend, I should trust in them, ne?" Naruto eyes brightened up as sparks appeared in his blue eyes. It seemed that there is still a bit of hope hanging onto him and for that, the Hyuuga was relieved.

"Arigatou, Hinata-chan." Naruto smiled from ears to ears as the girl's face was tinted red just by looking at him.

"Y-You're welcome…"

"Yosh! I'll need to do whatever I can to meet them and that means…" Naruto frowned and scratched his head as he racked his brain for solutions. A grin resurfaced on his face as he snapped his fingers.

"To the Hokage tower!"

-

(Tsunade's office)

"TSUNADE-BAASAN!!"

The Godaime cringed at the voice as the hyperactive blonde came crashing through the door into her office. And to think she was worried for him a moment ago…

"Tsunade-baasan! Do you have any free missions for me to do?! Especially those that require me to travel for long distances!" Naruto asked, as confusion surfaced on Tsunade's face. That was the first time Naruto actually volunteered for a mission. Something was not right.

"And why do you want such a tedious mission for? I could always give you some mission within Konoha's border."

"Dattebayo, I need to travel far in order to find Arashi-kun and Sakura… oops." Naruto's hands flew to cover his mouth as he realized he had just blurted out something unnecessary. An evil gleam flashed through the Godaime's eyes. It took a no-brainer just to force him to state his inner motives.

"Unfortunately, I can't consent to your request."

"Nani?! Why?!"

"It's true that both Arashi and Sakura are close to you. And that's the reason why I can't allow you to go for a mission. Not at this time. Knowing you, you'll probably run off and attempt at hunting them down, diverting yourself from the main goal of the mission. You should learn when to let go, Naruto." Tsunade clasped her hands in front of her as she glared sternly at the blonde.

"That's easy for you to say! What about you?! Can you even let go of Sakura-chan who was your apprentice for so many years?! Do you seriously believe that she's dead?!"

"That is why everything needs time. And soon, I'll learn how to let go of Sakura. You should too, Naruto."

There was silence as both were engaged in a heated glare competition. Naruto gritted his teeth as fury took over him.

"I've always respected you as a great Shinshou of Sakura and a great Godaime. But it seemed that I'm wrong about you." Naruto spat out as he stormed out of the office in rage, slamming the door behind him so loud that echoes could be heard throughout the whole tower.

Tsunade's angry eyes melted instantly as the boy disappeared behind the door, replaced by grief and sorrow. To tell the truth, she really disliked doing this to Naruto since he was much like a younger brother to her. Hurting him only serves to hurt her more than expected. But in order to prevent the whole of Konoha knowing Arashi's secrets, she had no choice but to keep it out from every other ninja. After all, it was only her and some individuals who knew that the both of them were still alive and well.

"_I'm sorry, Naruto…"_

_-_

"We'll be staying here for the current moment. Take a good rest and be prepared for tomorrow's journey." Kakashi opened the wooden door revealing a small room with two rolls of Futon and a low table with cushions to serve as chairs. Overall, the room was small but nevertheless, it has a cozy atmosphere especially with the walls painted a dark shade of brown with a white ceiling and the floor made of parquet. It was a surprise to Sakura that Kakashi could even afford to stay at an inn.

"I'll be going out for a moment. You can take a walk around in the meantime but do not cause any unnecessary attention."

"Hai."

"See you then." the door shut with a 'click' as the girl just stare blankly at the door before squatting down and unpacking her bag which consisted mostly of clothes and toiletries.

"Guess I'll take a bathe first before going out." She mumbled under her breath as she grabbed the necessary items before going into the equally small bathroom.

-

Kakashi paced around the tree, his eyes occasionally looking up to survey his surroundings. The sound of a twig snapping was enough for him to turn his head towards the direction of the source as a shadow approached him.

"So you've finally decide to run away from Konoha?"

"On the contrary, they were trying to chase me out of Konoha." Kakashi replied, "Guess I'll be travelling with you from now onwards."

"It seemed so, Hatake."

"Hope to have a pleasant time working with you."

"That should be my statement."

-

"We'll be needing this, this… and this." Sakura told herself as she made a grab for the items on the shelves and placing them into the basket. After getting all that she needed, Sakura made her way to the counter, which was currently being attended to by a rather plump, merry-looking middle aged man. His hair was close to bald but it seemed that he wasn't affected by that fact.

"Are you new here? This is the first time I'm seeing you, girl." The man strike up a conversation with her, as his cheeks inflated into small balloons from his smile. Fishing the groceries from the basket and placing them into a paper bag.

"Hai, it's the first time I've came here. Hajimemashite." His smile widened as he handed her the groceries which she accepted gratefully before she headed back to the inn.

There were voices coming from their room which earned Sakura's puzzlement.

"_Had Kakashi came back already? If so, why are there two voices? That's funny…"_ Sakura pondered. In the end, she decided that everything would become clear once she opened the door and that was what she did.

Her hands went around the door knob as her heart pumped so wildly inside her chest such that the heartbeats were echoing in her ears. She bit her lower lips and finally turned the doorknob, opening the door.

Just as she had guessed, there were two people sitting on the cushions by the table. One was Kakashi and the other… Sakura gasped upon seeing the other man's face as the paper bag in her hands fell onto the ground, with the content flowing out from the bag. She lifted her trembling hands and pointed at the newcomer and turned to look at Kakashi for an answer.

"W-what is he doing here?"

"Well, I guessed you already know her. She's Haruno Sakura who will be tagging along with us for some time." Kakashi introduced.

"Hn."

"And Sakura, he will be our new partner from now on… Uchiha Itachi."

TBC

-

**Yay. Finally the mysterious character is revealed! xD So did you people guessed correctly?  
**

**I'll try my best to continue updating at least once a month or two months. I know it kinda slow but as I've said, I'll try my best :) **

**Thanks to Konoha's white fang, rangerfan58, rai-hatake312, fanimation-x-, prescripto13, ashfire28 for reviewing the previous chapter**

**To those that had been reviewing for my story since chapter 1, thanks a lot! And much thanks to those who also start reviewing later! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Ahhhh… I sure many people might have thought that I'm probably dead. Well, in a way I guess I'm dead from university. So I've decided to churn out chapter 12 before I begin semester two. I guess for the past few months/years I've been kinda sidetracked by many other things (such as the Beatles) which got me out of the anime phase for quite some time. But nevertheless, I'm back (momentarily) to update my story even though some followers may have given up on me. Hopefully those who are still there (if there's any left) will enjoy this chapter. Cheers.**

**Disclaimer: I do not owe Naruto if not Kakasaku would have been canon.**

* * *

_Identities_

_(Chapter 12)_

"W-Why is Itachi here? Isn't he supposed to be dead?" Sakura half-screamed out, her finger pointed at the Akatsuki sitting beside Kakashi. The Uchiha merely raised an eyebrow in respond.

"Maa… it's a long story… but most importantly, he's an ally of ours so there's no need for you to fear him." Kakashi scratched his head as he stood up to help pick up the groceries that had spilled over the floor.

"…" Sakura remained silent as she eyed Itachi warily.

"You don't need to stare that intensely at me," the Uchiha finally spoke. "I have no interest in killing weaklings."

That earned a flustered Sakura as vein marks started popping on her forehead.

"I'm not weak! Do you need me to show you-…" she raised her clenched fist and dashed in his direction. It wasn't for long as Kakashi swiftly grabbed her waist, stopping her from hitting her target.

"Let me go, Kakashi-sensei! I'm going to decapitate that man and-…"

"Now now Sakura-chan, relax, getting riled up will only prove his point." Kakashi gave a grunt when Sakura's elbow hit him in the ribs… either from his comment or from the struggling. He hoped it's the latter. "I'll treat you to ice-cream."

"I'm not a child, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura stopped her attacks. The boy made sure it was safe before releasing her from his grip, "but I'll take up that offer anyway." With a 'hmph', Sakura picked up the groceries and stomped into the kitchen.

"You are too soft on her, Hatake." Itachi commented before taking a sip from the cup of tea that was on the table.

"Ahaha… don't worry, although she may not seem like it, but she's strong." Kakashi let out a nervous laughter. "She's also a medic-nin."

"I see… she'll be useful for us then. Let's wrapped up tomorrow's plans before you bring her for ice-cream."

Kakashi's eyes turned serious as he gave a nod in agreement.

* * *

(Outside Naruto's apartment)

KNOCK KNOCK

"Naruto-kun! Are in there, Naruto-kun?" Chouji's voice rang out as he knocked vehemently on the door. "Shikamaru and I are going to ichiraku, do you want to tag along?"

KNOCK KNOCK

"NARUTO-KUN!"

"Come on, Chouji, he's probably not at home." Shikamaru let out a yawn and walked away from the scene. "How troublesome."

"W-Wait up, Shikamaru." The chubby boy flailed his arms as he ran to catch up with his friend. "I guess it's his loss for not staying put at home…"

"Ramen, gears, clothings, sleeping bag and ramen… I guess that should be enough for the trip!" Naruto let out a satisfied grin as he zipped his bag and swung it behind. "If Tsunade-Baachan doesn't allow me to go find them, I'll just have to run away on my own! Nothing's gonna stop me now dattebayo!"

Naruto punched his fists in the air, getting hyped up over his plans. A rustle behind him caught his attention almost immediately.

"Who's there?" he shouted out frantically for fear of someone overhearing him.

There was a high-pitched squeak as Hinata fell to the ground, revealing herself.

"I-I didn't m-mean to overhear what y-you've said. I just happen to see you and-…" she began quickly.

"You scared me, Hinata-chan! For a second I thought you were Sasuke-teme or some spy from Tsunade…" he let out a sigh of relief.

"A-Are you really running away?" her question sounded more like a plea.

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan. I'm only going away temporary. I'll return as soon as I find Sakura-chan and Arashi-kun." He let out a bright smile to reassure her. "After all, only you and I believe that they are still alive, isn't it?"

Naruto patted her shoulder which caused her face to turn redder than before. It was a miracle that she had yet to faint.

"I'll be back soon."

That sentence pierced her heart.

"_He's going alone out there in the wilderness… What if he gets attacked by enemies? After all I'm the one responsible for giving him hope that Sakura and Arashi might still be alive… if he ever gets hurt it'll be my fault…"_

"I-I am going with you." Her eyes hardened with determination as she gazed into Naruto's sky blue ones.

Naruto hesitated for a second before a smile returned to his face.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan."

* * *

"So which one was it again?"

"The strawberry one."

"Hai, hai…" Kakashi gave a sigh as he dug out his wallet, "why am I even doing this in the first place?"

"Because you promised to do so."

"No. I mean WHY am I even buying ice-cream for Uchiha Itachi? And strawberry flavoured ice-cream?" He really felt like hitting his head against the wall next to him.

"Kakashi-sensei, you should never judge someone for his preferences!" Sakura stared at him in disbelief. "You don't see me complaining when you read porn in public."

"It's a romance novel, not porn." A scowl appeared this time. The approaching waitress ended their conversation as she passed Kakashi the ice-creams, one chocolate and one… strawberry.

"Buying ice-cream for your girlfriend?" the waitress smiled and asked Kakashi which caused a slight blush to appear on his cheeks while Sakura smirked at the Copy-nin's embarrassment. Deciding to take things a bit further, Sakura hooked her hands through Kakashi's arms and smiled politely back to the waitress.

"Isn't he sweet? He knows that I love ice-cream and decides to take me out on a date for an ice-cream treat!"

Kakashi felt like dying. Here was her student… wait, ex-student, openly flirting with him. And Itachi's strawberry ice-cream… the world must be coming to an end.

"He is really a shy guy, isn't he?" the waitress chuckled upon seeing Kakashi's red face.

Yes, he knows that he's not wearing a mask like he usually does before the whole incident. He really missed his mask, considering the predicament he is in now.

"Here's your STRAWBERRY ice-cream." Kakashi threw the packet over to the aloof man who was sitting by the table, staring out into the sky. Itachi gave a soft grunt before reaching out for it. Kakashi and Sakura took the floor a few metres in front of Itachi.

"I've sent a scout over to sound."

"I see. Any results?"

"No news. He's taking extra precaution this time round especially after he got rid of the old hideout."

"Ah."

"Who's this 'he' you guys are talking about?" Sakura interrupted.

"Well, you see… Sakura-chan, this guy is-…" Kakashi stuttered, unsure if his partner was willing to share the information.

"It's Orochimaru." Itachi deadpanned.

"Orochimaru? Didn't Sasuke already kill him?" she frowned as her eyebrows knitted together.

"He did. But his minion was still alive. Kabuto, I believed, took some of Orochimaru's cells and merged with his own." Itachi shrugged. "End product was a mixture between Orochimaru and Kabuto."

"And you guys are looking for him?"

"Not just looking, Sakura. We need to kill him before he destroys Konoha." Kakashi stated grimly.

There were still a tons of questions that were bugging Sakura but she decided to swallow them. Meanwhile, she will just have to trust in Kakashi and his actions… and Itachi's as well.

Kakashi could see the perplexity in Sakura's eyes and guilt started gnawing at him. Yes, he owed her many explanations and he was partially at fault for dragging her into this mess.

Itachi glanced at the copy-nin who was looking worriedly over at Sakura and her looking back with equally worried eyes. He gave an irritated sigh at the two who were still trapped in their own world.

"I'll be scouting the area over here. Just do what you need to do." Itachi stood up and walked out of the door. That brought the two back to reality.

"Well… I'm sorry you got dragged into this, Sakura." Kakashi started as he stared at his feet.

Sakura shook her head, "It's not your fault, Kakashi-sensei. I was the one who wanted to follow you."

"…"

"Just… tell me what happened from the beginning. Ever since that B-ranked mission that Tsunade-shinshou sent you on."

"Well, during that mission, a trapped was set off and the cave started collapsing. It was terrible; Genma got into trouble so I went to save him but got myself stuck instead. I guessed I was knocked out by the boulders and probably died under all those rocks. But when I woke up, I found myself in another cave. It was…" He hung in mid-air as the atmosphere around him tensed.

"Orochimaru's hideout."

Sakura's eyes widened as she beckoned him to continue the story.

"Apparently I was found by him, barely alive, and became one of his experimental subjects. It is also the reason why I've became like this. I knew I had to escape before he kills me with his weird experiments and I was really lucky that Uchiha Itachi decided to pay a visit to Orochimaru's hideout shortly after I woke up. I don't know why Itachi was still alive though, nevertheless, he helped me with the escape, swiping some documents away at the same time. We got to the borders of sound before settling down in the forest. It turned out that Itachi knew that Orochimaru was planning to attack Konoha and he was planning to stop it by himself. So, after much contemplation, I've decided to work with Itachi to stop Orochimaru as well."

"We soon parted ways. He had to continue his investigations while I decide to go back Konoha and wait for further news. To keep my profile low, I pretended to be a commoner while trying to get back to Konoha. Of course, Orochimaru's men found me and I was cornered. Furthermore, I wasn't exactly adapted to my new body and that's how Jiraiya-san found me. I didn't expect my cover to be blown that fast and thus this is how we ended up here."

He turned to Sakura who looked as if she had just heard an incredible tale. The confusion was now gone as a smile graced her lips.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei, for telling me everything."

"I'm sorry for getting you into this."

That earned an irritated glare from the pink-haired kunoichi.

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's not your fault, Kakashi-sensei. I was the one who wanted to join you."

"Stop calling me sensei. I'm only sixteen." He mumbled under his breath.

"Sixteen? I thought you were eighteen." Sakura gasped in disbelief. "You're still an old man at heart anyway."

"That hurts, Sakura-chan." Kakashi feigned hurt. "I'm sure thirty-two is not that old."

"I'll stop calling you sensei if you stop calling me Sakura-chan."

"Deal."

"So Kakashi-kun, what's our plan for tomorrow?"

Kakashi could feel his face turning red. After all, social awkwardness can't be cured in a single day.

"We'll be staying put till Itachi gathers new information for us so the next few days may be boring for you."

"Don't worry, there's no way I'll get bored staring at your face." Sakura chuckled as the boy turned a deeper shade of red. "You're really fun to teased, Kakashi-kun."

"I didn't know you enjoy picking on your old sensei."

"Old sensei? Just a minute ago you told me to stop calling you sensei because it made you feel old and now you're calling yourself old?" She had to suppress herself from bursting into laughters. "Make up your mind, Kakashi-sensei or Kakashi-kun?"

"Kakashi-kun." He muttered while the girl grinned. Their playful banter was interrupted when the door opened and Itachi walked in, taking his seat again.

"I'm making dinner." Sakura stated as she stood up and headed for the kitchen.

Itachi's eyes followed her figure before landing at the copy-nin.

"So, how's the bonding time, Kakashi-sensei?"

* * *

(Somewhere out there)

"Arghhh, how are we even supposed to start the search?" Naruto's voice rang out as he crushed the map in his hands for the third time. Hinata was sitting on the ground, tending to the fire while the water in the pot started boiling. "I don't even know where the mission is."

"S-since A-Arashi is new, I think Hokage-sama w-would have sent them somewhere n-near Konoha." Hinata voiced out.

"You're right, Hinata! I'm so glad I brought you along." Naruto cheered, oblivious to the blush on the girl's face. "I guess we can always start with Suna, after all, Konoha's pretty close to them."

"O-Okay."

* * *

(Back in the Hyuuga's mansion)

"Neji, have you seen Hinata anywhere?" Hiashi asked the white-eyed boy who was meditating in the garden.

"No, Hiashi-sama. She might be sent on a mission."

"That's funny, I don't remember her mentioning anything about mission…" the man pondered as he walked away, lost in thoughts.

Smelling something fishy, Neji stood up and head towards the streets of Konoha.

"Hey, Neji." A voice appeared behind him.

"What brings you here, Shikamaru-san?" Neji turned and came face to face with Shikamaru.

"Nothing much, just asking if you've notice a missing blonde and probably, a missing Hyuuga too." That got Neji's interest.

"They could be on a mission."

"Checked. Nothing of that sort."

There was a pregnant silence as they stared at each other.

"It's impossible…"

Shikamaru gave a small chuckle. "Anything's possible with Naruto."

"I'm gonna kill him, that bastard." Neji growled. "For dragging Hinata-sama into his recklessness…"

"Calm down, Neji-san. The issue now is, should we report it to the Hokage or should we take actions on our own?"

"Report it to the Hokage."

TBC

* * *

**Some bit of progression. I think I'll probably need three to four more chapters to finish up the story. Read and review!**

**Anyway, many thanks to:**

**Jookosta kookosta**

**Sappire-Gold45**

**CaitlinTierney**

**Rika24**

**Dubitandum**

**Rangerfan58**

**Prescripto13**

**Konoha's White Fang**

**Kpagan5**

**For reviewing my fic. Your reviews are my encouragements though please forgive me for the long wait. I really appreciate your patience :) After all, the waiting is the hardest part (Tell me if you get this joke). Especially for those who had been reviewing since chapter 1, I salute thee if you're still keeping up with this story. Many hugs and love to the reviewers. **


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